You totally didn’t read it here first, but there it is: Ultima series creator Richard Garriott has parted ways with Tabula Rasa (also his creation) publisher NCSoft in order to pursue new interests.

Apparently, his recent trip into space (a “lifelong dream” of his) has prompted him to look for a change:

“Well, that unforgettable experience has sparked some new interests that I would like to devote my time and resources to. As such, I am leaving NCsoft to pursue those interests.”

Well, here on the Edmonton Game Convention blog, we wish Lord — now General — British all the best in whatever new venture he strikes out toward, whether those interests exist within, or outside of, the gaming industry.

Interesting factoid I did not know previously: Lord British is apparently the son of an astronaut.

(thanks to Aiera Reader mageguru for the link to this article)

This open-source 3D client for Ultima Online has been updated to version 2520, for both Windows and Linux. Updated installer files can be downloaded from the project website, or via the project entry at Aiera.

This interesting project that imports shapes from The Black Gate into Serpent Isle has been updated and patched since last I looked in on it. Specifically, it has been updated to version 6.8.7, which has also been patched to fix an issue with compilation.

Full details can be found at the project’s discussion thread in the Exult forums. Updated downloads are available there, or through the project entry at Aiera.

The bleeding-edge version of Exult — the Ultima 7 engine for more operating systems and platforms than one cares to list — has been updated as of October 9th. Exult Tools and Exult Studio have similarly been updated, and all can be downloaded from the project website.

Or from the project entry at Aiera, my Ultima-themed website.

I missed this update, which is already almost two weeks old, to the Redemption website. Direhaggis posted an advertisment, announcing the project’s need for writers:

Do you like Ultima dungeons? Does the thought of creating NPC’s and plots based around or involving an anti-virtue sound interesting? Do you want to check out all of the behind-the-scenes action?

We’re looking for a new writer or two to help sparsely (or maybe not so sparsely) populate several remaining dungeons in U9R. You have 100% free artistic license over your area and will obviously get credit for your work.

So if you find that you are interested in climbing aboard one of the most exciting projects currently under development in the Ultima community, Direhaggis has provided his email address and the submission guidelines at the Redemption website. Go and check thou it out!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past while, dear reader, you know about the teensy weensy market crisis that is currently giving the American economy a good, solid kick to the junk.  I could definitely go off on a tangent about my personal opinion of the bailout bill, the seemingly merry ignorance of massive personal debt, and the now rewarding of Wall Street for some insanely poor business practices.

However, I won’t.

What I will comment on is a news article I saw today detailing the falling prices of game company stock.  For those of you not interested in slogging through the entire article, let’s look at the highlights for the past month:

• Activision-Blizzard.  Down 28% from $16.62 to $11.95
• EA.  Down 37% from $44.21 to $27.80
• THQ.  Down 39% from $8.34 to $5.49
• Take 2.  Down 40% from $13.01 to $8.76

Things look even worse when you look at the year on year drops.  EA has a whopping 54% drop while THQ has plummeted 68% over the last year.  This are not cheery number for an industry that was declared to be recession proof.  Indeed, it shows just how bad the current market panic is. 

My personal view is, however, that the time will soon be right for snatching up some stocks for the old portfolio at basement prices.  I fully agree with analysts who believe that the game industry is relatively stable compared to other industry sectors at the moment, although I won’t go so far as to say that they are recession proof.

The big problem in predicting what game companies will do in the current market crisis is their relative age.  We haven’t seen what happens to a fully developed electronic game market in this kind of situation. Market problems of the 80s saw a very different landscape in the realm of video games. Nintendo was king of the hill having already saved the market from a self-created meltdown. Indeed, I think Nintendo will once again do very well in the face of adversity. Their new marketing direction as seen in the Wii and DS has broadened their appeal to an extremely wide market. The hardcore gamers might be made at darling Nintendo for abandoning them for the masses, but we were the ones that started the affair cycle upon jumping ship to the Playstation.

Console wars aside, I feel that the game market itself in terms of basic dollars and cents will come out of this mess very well. In the past, movies and other forms of affordable and basic entertainment have always done well in recessions. People need something to take their minds off of the crumbling foundations of society that are all around them. Why not pick up Madden and score a few virtual touchdowns?

Me?  Well, I’m off to the bank to buy some game stocks.

Just announced:

Nintendo’s hit DS portable machine will come with a digital camera that will allow players to mix images, scribble on photos and create new faces, the Japanese game maker said Thursday.

The Nintendo DSi will go on sale in Japan on Nov. 1 for 18,900 yen ($180), and will be available overseas next year. Dates and other details for overseas plans will be announced later, President Satoru Iwata said.

Iwata said the revamped DS is meant to be the first camera for children, a means of network-building for older people or a party toy, part of the company’s ongoing quest to broaden gaming’s popularity.

One in six Japanese already owns a DS, according to Kyoto-based Nintendo, which also makes Pokemon and Super Mario games. But the goal is to make the DS a must-have for every Japanese, Iwata said.

Very cool. I will say this: Nintendo, like Apple, has a knack for producing very cool, fun, and very culture-savvy products…and the DSi is certainly an excellent example thereof.

(Personally, I’m holding out for the version of the DS that comes with the camera, mp3 playback^[1], a 60+ GB internal solid-state drive, and a cellular phone. And 3G, just for good measure.

You know it’s coming, good Reader. ;))

1) Apparently, the DSi will not ship with a GBA game slot, so the Play-Yan mp3 player won’t work with it.