Confirmed: Ensemble Studios To Close After Halo Wars Completion

Microsoft plans to shut down subsidiary developer Ensemble Studios after the release of its upcoming release Halo Wars, Gamasutra has learned from industry sources.

Tying up with comments made by our sources suggesting layoffs at the studio today, Shacknews is also reporting that developers attached to the Halo Wars project have been offered incentives to remain at Ensemble until the game ships. Its last announced release projection was early 2009.

Founded in 1995 and located in Dallas, Ensemble is known for its long-running Age of Empires series of historically-themed PC real-time strategy games. It was acquired by Microsoft in 2001.

The company’s most recent full game, Age of Empires III for PC, was a commercial success with over two million copies sold, but it is less clear how its two subsequent expansion packs fared.

Speaking to Gamasutra, a Microsoft representative declined to issue a statement but claimed an official response is en route.

 Read more & latest update

California tackles ‘cactus crime’
It’s 109F (43C) in Palm Desert, a parched city in Southern California.
Outside, little stirs that doesn’t need to.
But Spencer Wright, the city’s landscape manager, walks me through neat desert gardens at the city’s visitor centre, pointing out short, round, spiny plants that are the target of local thieves.

Those prices relate only to the small golden barrels that are 6in (15cm) across.
They can grow, slowly, up to 2ft (60cm) in diameter and can fetch up to $4,000 (£2,200).

Read More and have your say HERE

Apple has unveiled the latest version of its iPod Nano, featuring what it says are the thinnest measurements yet.

The fourth generation Nano was launched at a US press conference by Apple chief Steve Jobs, who announced new shuffle and library features.
He also listed the Nano’s environmental credentials, including arsenic-free glass and a mercury and PVC-free body that is “highly recyclable”.

The Nanos are expected to sell in the UK for £109 ($191) for the 8GB version.
The 16GB version will retail at £149.

Speaking live in San Francisco, Mr Jobs unveiled Apple’s new Genius function which allows users to create automatic playlists from the iPod’s library with the click of a button.
He said the function worked by taking one song and creating a playlist based on the user’s song library and could also suggest other tracks the user might want to buy.

Mr Jobs said the new Nano also had a “shake to shuffle” mode, which sends the gadget to shuffle mode with the flick of a wrist allowing you to go backwards and forwards on your playlist.

Read more and have your say HERE

WASHINGTON (AP) — Visitors to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, soon may be greeted by more than sand dunes, seagulls and beach umbrellas.

If offshore wind advocates have their way, scores of 140-foot blades will be spinning in the ocean breeze nearly a dozen miles away, barely visible to the sunbathers.
Offshore wind has taken a back seat to offshore drilling for oil and natural gas in the current energy debate. But those wind-driven turbines probably will be operating long before oil platforms appear off Atlantic Coast states.
Delaware hopes to be the first state to construct a wind farm off its coast….

Read More and have your say HERE

Source

Quote:

AMERICAN shock jock HOWARD STERN will create his biggest outrage yet – by auctioning off a girl’s virginity on his radio show.

The 22-year-old brunette, who is using the pseudonym of NATALIE DYLAN “for safety reasons,” says the money will pay for her college tuition.

She was introduced to Howard by the owner of a brothel in Nevada, one of two US States where prostitution is legal.

The winner of the auction will get to consummate the relationship at the brothel, where the student’s sister already works.
Natalie says: “I don’t have a moral dilemma with it.
“We live in a capitalist society. Why shouldn’t I be allowed to capitalize on my virginity?”….

Read more and have your say HERE

Source

Due to inactivity on the forums of HighWay Gamers, we admins have started to make changes to freshen things up a bit and breath some life back into the forums.

A few changes include the HWG logo, thread icons, a guideline and rules thread, and a general clean up of certain forum sections.

Things will continue to change, including the banner at the top of the forum and this front page, further forum clean up, and the recruitment of forum moderators.

We have come a long way from when we first started on the back of pepsichic.co.uk, and we must continue to work hard to keep the survival of our online home healthy and active.

I apologize sincerely for the decline in activity, and lack of attention from both me and fireblade, i could give a load of excuses, but in the end its still our fault.

We are working hard to rectify the mistakes, and ask that you help us by checking the forum frequently and joining in with posting topics of interest.

To login or register at our forums please visit:

 www.highwaygamers.com/forum

Thankyou

PepsiChic & Fireblade

[HWG] Founders

Burnham-on-sea woke to a surprise Thursday when a fisherman discovered a undetonated German bomb from World War II.

A specialized bomb squad was called in, and at low tide the bomb was examined and a safety zone put up.

the bomb weighs 700kg and is 10ft in diameter - its pretty big!

It was due to be detonated Friday, but due to technical problems it was called off till today.

Detonation time should be 12 noon BST, spectators can witness this by lining the wall along Burnham Beach.

Read the full story HERE

join the forums for the latest discussion and news @ www.highwaygamers.com!

Just before 1am GMT on Wednesday 27th Febuary an earthquake struck the UK.  In many comparisons it wasnt a big earthquake, but for Britain, the earthquake which was 5.2/3, was the biggest yet for 20+ years.

The epicentre was in a small town in Lincolnshire called Market Rasen but *apparently* the tremor was felt as far south as Plymouth and as far North as parts of Scotland….im a bit disbelieving in this, i live just north of Plymouth and i didnt feel a damn thing, not from the tremors or the aftershock.

So far one one injury has been reported and the damaged caused is little more then a few chimney tops fallen down and a damaged roof here and there.

 From BBC.co.uk

Earthquake felt across much of UK

The earthquake caused damage to many homes

The biggest earthquake in the UK for nearly 25 years has shaken homes across large parts of the country. People in Newcastle, Yorkshire, London, Cumbria, the Midlands, Norfolk and also parts of Wales, felt the tremor just before 0100 GMT.

A man suffered a broken pelvis when a chimney collapsed in South Yorkshire.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) said the epicentre of the 5.2 magnitude quake was near Market Rasen in Lincolnshire. 

Read the story in full HERE

To go on to Fox News and tell the nation that a video game is disrespectful with horrid sexual scenes in it…and then admit to never actually playing the game and only going off of someone else’s opinion, is a very very stupid thing to do….

——————————————————————————————–

The Internet hath no fury like a gamer scorned.

That’s the lesson Fox News and a self-help author learned this week after a program on that channel featured a discussion of the sexual content of the hit video game Mass Effect.

Bound by global message boards, blogs, chat rooms and of course the games themselves, gamers are perhaps the single most intense subculture on the Internet — fiercely protective of their pastime and at ease with the byways of cybers pace.

So the game world has been ablaze with indignation since the Fox News program “The Live Desk With Martha MacCallum” said on Monday that Mass Effect, one of the most critically praised games of 2007, contains frontal nudity and explicit depictions of sexual activity. The assertions of virtual lasciviousness first appeared earlier this month among conservative bloggers incensed by brief YouTube clips excerpted from the 30- to 40-hour game.

Read the full story HERE

2007 has been a very busy year for everyone, jobs, families, health, money…lots of things in life that require our time and attention.

However for us here, we have another commitment…Our Community.
Its strange to think, this community will be 8 months old in 10 days. Its true when they say “time flies when your having fun”.

We started this community, and we’ve watched it struggle, move, grow, we’ve watched people come and very few go. Needless to say we are very proud of our community, we have created a place that is fun, friendly, laid back and sometimes a little outrageous but we’ve also proved that we are trustworthy, great listeners, we can turn to eachother for advice and help, we’re compassionate at what we do, what we try to do, and above all we care, for the community and for one another - and that goes for all members, old and new.

Members followed myself and Fireblade to this new home, others have found their way here by accident and dont want to leave. However it is you’ve found you’ve ended up at HighWay Gamers, we are happy to have you as part of our community, our family.

We have also done what many other communities, communities that have 6 years over us, have failed to do. We have met! Yes we couldnt all go, and a shame that was. But a good amount of us met for the Road Trip in november, we had an amazing time, learnt a lot about eachother, and we want seconds, thirds! And hopefully the more we do it, the more can come.

We have proved to ourselves that this community was worth the hard work, and even now as the 8th month mark approaches, we will continue to grow, but stay close knitt. We will continue to have fun, play games and meet up.

Lets take into 2008 that knowledge, and make 2008 as great for HWG as 2007 was.

Me and Fireblade want to thankyou all from the bottom of our hearts for being part of this community and making it what it is. We couldnt of done it without you guys, and we look forward to meeting you all on our next road trip!

so a toast to us, to our community

Happy New Year HighWay Gamers!

Kirsty & Keith

aka. PepsiChic & Fireblade