Apparently, Call of Pripyat isn't the only thing GSC Game World has baking in its oven. Russian games magazine Igromani, which recently blew the lid off on S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat via a feature article, has reportedly revealed that there's also a console port of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. in the works.

Remember back when Surfer Girl predicted that Far Cry 2 (PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360) would become the best shooter of 2008? Well, judging from what's streaming - nay, outright overflowing! - from Ubisoft's Ubidays event, there will probably be no first person shooter videogame title like it. EVER. Hands on demonstrations, interviews with dev leads, and trailers all outline pretty ambitious new features. Get those that captivated audiences, updated with a new video, at the full story.

GSC Game World, the studio behind S.TA.L.K.E.R., has formally announced that it is now a certified developer for the Xbox 360. It hasn't announced any games in the works as of yet but it was mentioned that the studio plans to come out with multiplatform games.

Here's hoping they'll port S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. Hopefully we'll see an Xbox 360 version of its prequel, Clear Sky.

For those of you who've played the PC exclusive S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, you might be pleased to know that the crew at GSC Game World is considering a console version release for the game after its initial success.

Knowing the FPS nature, as well as the dark, post apocalyptic theme, the game would definitely look pretty sleek if it were transferred onto a next-gen console. GSC project manager Anton Bolshakov stated that they wanted to expand their market with their plans to move to the console. He had this to say on the matter:

PC game development is very traditional for ex-USSR and over 90 percent of gamers here play on PCs. However, we are pretty aware of the tendencies in the markets internationally and have been considering console development for a while.

 
While they have no definite plans just yet, they have been considering this option for some time already. Whether or not this will push through for the recent game or its sequel is still unknown, it's also unsure what platform exactly we'll be seeing their debut on.

Until they have any more news on the matter though, we'll just have to hang tight and see what GSC has under its sleeves regarding the matter.

 

Earlier last month, GSC Game World announced that it was going to unveil several new titles based on the phenomenally dark world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. at the ESA's E3 Media & Business Summit this July. Beyond all doubt, it was a given that GSC Game World were targeting these new titles for the PC, where the franchise first debuted.

But a report by CVG identified GSC Game World's Anton Bolshakov, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s project lead, revealing a hint of "next iterations," despite very little clues as to whether the successors will come to any other platform except the PC. CVG believes it's definitely not impossible, even though GSC Game World's portfolio of games brands itself as a PC developer.

We can't really tell for sure, but if GSC Game World wants to develop for consoles, there's nothing much to stop them, except another huge budget to save up for. But we guess with creative-hub publisher THQ at the reins, GSC Game World might just give it a try.

Develop has recently announced the list of finalists nominated to receive awards offered by the Develop Industry Excellence Awards. Set for the region of UK and Europe, the awards will be held during the Develop Conference & Expo to be held this year at Brighton. Again.

 

Top of the nominees list is Realtime Worlds (Crackdown), bagging a whopping seven nominations. Evolution Studios (MotorStorm), Rare (Viva Piñata), SCEE Studio Liverpool (Formula One Championship Edition), and independent developer and publisher Introversion (DEFCON) get three nominations a-piece. Other nominees include GSC Game World (S.T.A.L.K.E.R.) from Russia, EA DICE (Battlefield series) and Avalanche from Sweden, Opera from Norway, and Fishlabs from Germany.

Some of the big names nominated for the 2007 awards night include Eidos Hungary, Ubisoft France development studios, Eden Studios, and Kynogon. The fate of these nominees will be decided by a panel of almost 100 industry experts who choose only excellence over anything else. Stuart Dinsey, publisher of Develop magazine, stated:

In a period which has seen the launch of two home consoles, the continued improvement of Xbox 360 and PC software, and the mobile games market emerge as a genuine creative and commercial alternative to the more traditional games platforms, only the most excellent titles have any chance of standing out from the crowd.

Two other special awards, Development Legend and overall Grand Prix, will be given away in the awards night on July 25 to be honored to individuals, companies, or titles deserving in the eyes of the magazine's editorial staff.