It looks like layoffs are the "in" thing these days. While NCSoft lost less people than rumors previously said, Radical Entertainment was not so lucky. According to the Vancouver Sun, the studio's staff has been cut roughly in half. More in the full article.

Just how rough a year was 2007 for the Need for Speed franchise? Well, things with Need for Speed ProStreet (PC, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, Wii) got so bad that it forced EA's hand to reform the distribution of manpower in its Vancouver studios. There will be twice the staff and longer development periods to allow devs to increase quality on their projects. More in the full story up ahead.

 With the closure of EA Chicago, some thought that the night may have ended early for the Fight Night franchise. Not so, says EA as it announces Fight Night Round 4 for the Sony PlayStation 3 and the Microsoft Xbox 360. Along with the comprehensive list of all-time greats, the devs promise us that plenty of improvements will be added. Controversial ex-champ Mike Tyson will also return here. Details in the full article.

A recent report is hinting that Microsoft wants some of the industry's best people to work on its Gears of War sequel. One of their prime catches is among the cream of the crop in the gaming scene's free agent list. Find out who this former EA Chicago boss is when you read the full article.

We've just picked up word that Bungie Studio's Jay Weinland and CJ Cowan have been announced as the keynote speakers for next year's Game Design Expo. We imagine this news will be especially interesting for the Halo fans, as Cowan and Weinland are members of the third installment's development team. Those interested in knowing what they'll be discussing will want to visit the full article.

 

Bully would have to be one of the most innovative games we've seen last year. It's a sandbox action game - along with many others - but being set in the fictional Bullworth Academy is pure genius. For those who missed it on the PS2, Rockstar Games just announced that Bully: Scholarship Edition will be hitting the Xbox 360 and Wii.

The game puts players in the shoes of Jimmy Hopkins, a 15-year old suffering from a broken family . After his mother married his fifth stepfather, Jimmy was thrown to a new school while his folks enjoy their honeymoon. Thing is, Bullworth Academy's alma matter seems to be about turning students into criminals and corrupted politicians.

We aren't going to mislead anyone tough: Jimmy doesn't just bully everyone. In fact, he's more on protecting weaker guys that get harassed by preppies, greasers, and jocks. Of course, nerds with their ingenious weapons (rocket bottles, potato cannons), can be troublesome too.

Set for a winter release, expect Bully: Scholarship Edition to take you on a ride through the joys and "torments" of high school. New content were added to enhance the fantastic experience Bully delivered. With smart humor each turn and very realistic yet comical characters, this "T" rated title developed by Rockstar Vancouver is bound to win hearts of teens and teens at heart.

It's confirmed: Uwe Boll's making another movie adaptation of a popular videogame, and this time it's Far Cry.  The shooting of the movie - which will take place in Vancouver, Canada, instead of Hawaii as previously stated- will begin immediately next month, as Gamerflicks reports.

A little backgrounder on Far Cry: Ubisoft's 2004 first-person shooter puts the player in the shoes of Jack Carver, an ex-Special Forces soldier who encounters mutant creatures known as Trigen after a mercenary job goes awry. Things go sharply downhill after that, with Carver bent on rescuing his employer - a female journalist by the name of Valerie Constantine - and every step bringing him closer to what the Trigens really are, and who created the monstrosities in the first place.

That's how it goes in the game. How it actually goes in the movie is anyone's guess - and when Uwe's involved, all bets are off, if one remembers his spin on Postal. With much of the cast and staff from his previous movies reprising their roles, one thing is clear, at least: we're in for one very interesting game-to-movie adaptation.

Oh, and in case you're wondering just who'll be portraying Jack, it's a rumored toss-up between Michael Pare ("Bloodrayne II") or Jason Statham ("In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Movie").

 

While "Canuck" sounds like a cross between a cough and a hiccup (now don't hurt yourself trying to reproduce it), the second Annual Canuck Awards is more affectionately known as the Elan Awards. This new awards event held in Canada annually will honor the best artistic productions in electronics: anything and everything in games.

While being just another awards ceremony to add to the countless ones coming out each year, the Elans is slated to honor any and all platform titles, including casual, arcade and mobile games. It will also honor story and concept writing in games, a dedicated Hall of Fame for games that make the cut, and even animation and voice-over productions. Everything art, they've got just the fart part (pardon our French).

The awards categories will each have their own panel of five judges (no judge sits on more than one panel) to decide on the criteria for choosing the winner among qualifying nominees. Judges only qualify in the panel if they are respected minds in the industry. Other strict procedures are as follows:

• All Companies/Institutions providing Jurors may provide more than one.
• No two representatives from one Company/Institution will be selected to sit on the same Panel.
• Every Juror must sign a non-conflict contract to be approved by the CAEAA.
• Each CAEAA Category is judged by Panels from outside of Canada.
• Each International Category is judged by Panels from within Canada.
• All Nomination and Winning Ballots will be handled directly by the Elans Auditing Firm, Buckley Dodds.

Click on Full Article to view the complete listing of categories plus a few more details.

The Vancouver Film School in cooperation with Evergreen events will hold a day long lecture and seminar session called "Career Discovery: Games" on March 24 in Bellevue, Washington to teach interested students the keys to getting in and making it big in the game industry.

The event aims to cater to everyone who seeks the path to a career in one of the most sought-after industries in this day and age. Evergreen and VFS are pulling out all the stops to gather necessary funding in order to support even those students who cannot afford the fee for the learning experience.

The VFS is committed to making things happen in order to help deserving learners get aboard the interactive entertainment business. "VFS is excited to be working with Evergreen Events and the Career Discovery group as an AAA scholarship sponsor. We're eager to support the development of the future creative minds in the video game industry," said Stephen Webster, School Director for VFS.

The event aims to draw in middle-and high school students who have the genuine interest and raw drive to be in the line of work where they show passion. Registration is at US$ 25. Visit www.evergreenevent.org for all the details if you want to sign up.

Don Mattrick, the former worldwide president of studios at Electronic Arts, has signed on with Microsoft. During his EA stint, he oversaw franchises such as Need for Speed and The Sims. Mattrick left EA in 2005. According to GamesIndustry.biz, Mattrick will take on an advisory role, working for Microsoft's entertainment and devices division.

Mattrick, however, will not be a full-time Microsoft employee and will continue to work out of Vancouver rather than at the company's Redmond offices. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Xbox boss Peter Moore said that Mattrick will "assist Microsoft on a broad array of tasks including helping its own game studios."