Morning DLC: Video Games News And Rumors 8/9/13
By Nick Tylwalk
"Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos may be the world’s newest newspaper baron, but he may have his eye on another business: game consoles. Game Informer reported tonight that it has heard from sources that his company is developing a new Android-based video game console for release by the end of the year.Citing unnamed sources, Game Informer said the machine would launch by Black Friday. The hardware is under development, and it would be the platform for Amazon’s current lineup of titles from its Android App Store. The console will have its own dedicated game controller. Amazon offered no comment to Game Informer, and we are seeking an official comment as well. If it’s true, it could shake up the market, which generates nearly $20 billion a year in revenues in the U.S. alone.GamesBeat has also independently heard rumblings of an Amazon game console. One developer told us that Amazon showed off a version of the system recently and that Amazon is seeking content, particularly casual games, to run on the device."
"MMO developer Trion Worlds continues to reorganize. After gutting its Defianceteam earlier this year, the company has announced that it is now shutting down its San Diego office.“The day to day operations of Defiance will be moved to our Redwood City studio where it can be managed alongside Rift and our other in development titles including ArcheAge and End of Nations,” a company spokesperson said."
"Blizzard provided collectible card game fans with an update on “Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft’s” development today. The beta for the free-to-play multiplayer game could begin by the end of the month.“Our overall focus has shifted onto fixing bugs and improving our infrastructure so that it can support a larger number of players,” said Blizzard in a new blog post. “We’re making good progress, and while we definitely won’t fix every bug before releasing the beta, we do think it’s important to address any issues that would pull focus away from the core game experience. What that means is that we’re not days away from launching the beta, but we’re not months away either.”"