It's been a while since we last heard anything about Frontier Development's long in development techno thriller, The Outsider (PS3, 360, PC). Things are set to change however, as we've received word that the David Braben led project has signed a publisher, exactly who the publisher is will be announced in the very near future.

More on the game after the jump!

We know there is a crisis and we need to cost cut but it seems like not everyone is for buying pre-owned games. David Braben of Frontier thinks that this threatens the game industry. Read up on his opinions on the matter after the jump.

The last time someone spoke of providing the power of choice to the consumer, the idea wasn't exactly hoarding over an air of dissatisfaction with software. Nintendo's highly anticipated WiiWare launch is just rounding the corner, and while we can expect a fair share of shovel-"WiiWare," we're told by independent developers that the service is all about empowering the customer with the final decision. Learn more at the full story.

LostWinds from Frontier Development was one of the first big titles announced for WiiWare. Unfortunately, we've heard precious little of it until now. Head on over to the full article for LostWind's gameplay details.

Frontier Developments is taking a bold step in the direction of WiiWare development as it announced the details of its first title for the Nintendo service with LostWinds for the Wii. The game puts you in the role of Toku as it places "the power of the wind in the palm of your hand." More details and screenshots of the game in the full article.

Frontier Developments' Founder David Braben has revealed details on his current project The Outsider (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360) and confirmed that they are working on Elite IV for next gen consoles in the recent Nottingham's Game City event.

In the conference, Braben described the video game as an "action thriller, directed by the player." Further lending to this feeling is the premise of the game which places players in the shoes of an ex-CIA agent called Jameson who was framed for the murder of the U.S. President.

While The Outsider has a lot of action sequences, a major part of the video game has Jameson interacting and dealing with various factions such as the Chinese secret service and the corrupt CIA agents who framed him. Fans of non-linear gameplay will be thrilled to know that Braben said that they have modeled the entire Washington DC in the game and that it is possible for players to interact with thousands of NPCs in the game.

Braben also revealed that The Outsider features a robust physics engine and animation system complete with motion capture. In one of the videos featured during the event, they showed of Jamison knocking out one of the bad guys causing him to painfully bounce off one of the nearby tables before hitting the ground.

Gamers who can't wait to pick up a copy of Founder Developments' The Outsider will be happy to know that it should be available for PS3 and Xbox 360 some time this year barring any delays.

The head of The Outsider's developing team Frontier Developments, David Braben, has made the following brave statement (made in the face of hardcore gamers and alike): the much acclaimed titles BioShock and Halo 3 are not exactly next-gen.

"I found Halo 3 great fun, too, but also a little disappointing," he said, adding that while Halo 3's graphics have improved, the gameplay didn't offer anything new that Halo 2 didn't. His sentiments towards BioShock was more or less the same, with Braben saying that he liked the overall oldies theme of the game, but that the gameplay wasn't next-gen.

Braben believes that Frontier Development's The Outsider, which was announced almost two years ago, will be a proper next-gen game that can trounce Bungie's Halo 3 and BioShock. And how does he define a "proper" next-gen game?

For Braben, a real next-gen game lets players have the tools or the means to affect the game's story more deeply than just merely choosing the "good path" or the bad path".

That said, we couldn't wait to get more info on how The Outsider will turn out. Since we haven't heard much about the game for several months, here's a refresher: The Outsider places gamers into the shoes of Jameson, a rogue CIA agent accused of murdering the President. In the game, players can choose whether to avenge his wronged name or to take advantage of the situation and wreak havoc onto Jameson's former bosses.

The game will be released for both the Xbox 360 and PS3. There's still no concrete information about the game's release dates or the actual gameplay, but you can be sure that we'll keep you posted.

While some may say otherwise, noted game designer David Braben (of Elite fame) has chosen to take a snipe at the Manhunt 2 controversy in an interview with CVG, saying that games the likes of Manhunt 2 should not be created since they attract negative attention towards the video industry.

Braben said that while Manhunt 2 was given a Mature rating, people who are accustomed to other Mature titles but with lesser degree of violence than Rockstar's highly-controversial game (such as the Metal Gear Solid franchise, for one) will buy the game, not aware that Manhunt 2 packs in higher levels of violence and gore.

He goes on to say that "While Manhunt 2 might have brought short term gain to Rockstar, it damages the reputation of the industry as a whole, long term…"

The "short term gain" he refers to may very well by the high-level of interest spurred about by Manhunt 2's controversy. However, Braben said that in the long run all the negative attention will eventually cause the loss of the video game industry's respectability.

What do you think? Do you think David Braben's points are valid? Do share your thoughts by clicking on the Comments link below.

Read Braben's entire interview in the Read link!

 

It's no secret that the Wii's enjoying the limelight in this leg of the next-generation console race, all thanks to its motion-sensing capabilities with the Wiimote that had not only gamers off the couch and moving around, but also got the non-gaming demographic into the hobby of playing video games. However, David Braben, veteran games developer and the mind behind titles such as A Dog's Life, Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 and Thrillville, thinks that the Wii is merely a fad, and will fade into obscurity after the public has had enough about it.

In an interview, David Braben compared the Wii with the EyeToy, in the sense that people also thought highly of the PS2 camera, but soon got tired of it. His statement, snipped from the interview and in verbatim:

What's interesting is that people are talking about the novelty of the Wii as if it’s something completely revolutionary but actually we went through this same process with EyeToy, which allowed for gaming where you can stand up and do active physical things, but the EyeToy as a device lasted maybe eighteen months before people got bored with it, so that’s something that we should bare in mind with the Wii.

While I personally can agree that the EyeToy was indeed revolutionary for its time, it didn't get quite the amount of software support from Sony. Of course, there are the titles such as Eyetoy: Play and so on, as well as the games where they feature the EyeToy as an optional control device, but it didn't really get the sort of support that the Wiimote's having right now. We need only to look at some of the games (i.e. Manhunt 2, Trauma Center: Second Opinion, Super Mario Galaxy) to see how well the "gimmick" is supported.

Well, that's Braben's and yours truly's two cents about the Wii. How about you, dear reader? Have anything to share about the Wii being a fad? Let us know by your comments!

First announced almost a year and a half ago, David Braben's techno-thriller The Outsider remains to be the ever-elusive Sasquatch. With intermittent bursts of screenshots by the truckload, information just can't seem to burst through the dam fast enough. Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 fans are just thirsty for info when it comes to this game.

But not for long. Sighting of the game has been confirmed, and finally, it does hint at a clearer view of what the gameplay really is all about. Leading man Jameson, accused of assassinating the President, is sure to take on a whole lot of sprint exercises as CIA operatives chase him around town.

Most definitely, snipers will be hidden within buildings to try and take him down as he runs for it. So, why did he come back to the scene of the crime knowing full well that all's out to get him? Is he pursuing a vendetta against the government? That remains to be the mystery.

But from the few clues that were divulged via the video, we can surmise that he would want to break into the White House, and probably scour for evidence that he is innocent of the charges against him. Most probably, he was just set up. After all, no guilty murderer would come back to the crime scene hoping against hope that an evidence would turn up, clearing him of the crime.

Anyhow, if you want to see what we're talking about, and if you want to see the sasquatch finally captured on video, just click on the Read link below. Release date still TBA.