Online Entertainment Insider - Feb. 17, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Red Sox fans, and I know you’re out there, we have a lot to be upset about as famous knuckleballer Tim Wakefield is on the verge of retiring. But there could be life after baseball for him – he could join up with retired Red Sox pitcher Curt Shilling’s game company, 38 Studios and help promote its new release – Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. Maybe Tim can be a marketing coordinator or something.

Can I get real for a second? There’s been a growing trend of games spilling over into real life, and vise versa lately. I’m not just talking about getting Angry Birds on Facebook. Look…I love LEGO, and I love Minecraft.  But isn’t a LEGO version of Minecraft just a bit redundant? Hopefully it won’t catch on the same way that all the Angry Birds merchandise did, LEGO sets are expensive and I have too many nieces and nephews for it to be popular!

Find out more news from around the world of digital entertainment in this week’s edition of the Online Entertainment Insider, and have a great weekend!

The Industry
TIGA Proposes New Tax Breaks for Revitalizing UK Games Industry
PAX East Commits to Boston Until 2023

The Players
Moshi Monsters' Mind Candy Considering IPO
Prince of Persia Creator Returns to Games with Remake of Karateka
Zynga Beats Earnings Estimates for its First-Ever Quarterly Report as a Public Company
Ignited Games Celebrates Valentine's Day
Online Card Game Fight My Monster Secures $2.1 Million in Funding
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick Joins Coca-Cola Board
Kabam Kombines With Kongregate
World Series Hero Curt Schilling Takes on Video Games
After Zynga Settlement, Layoffs Hit Brazilian Social Gaming Company Vostu

The Entertainment
Ubisoft Ships 13 Million Dance Games and 7 Million Copies of Assassin Creed Title
Angry Birds Hatches on Facebook
Lego Minecraft Sets Due this Summer
Twisted Metal Movie on the Way - Report
Darksiders II Coming in June
Assassin's Creed 3 Arrives on October 30
Skullgirls Picked Just the Right Day to Reveal the Deadly Nurse Valentine
Seven Souls Online Gets Competitive with its Closed Beta
Pangya United New Course Ice Inferno Launches Today
Darkness Falls on Forsaken World in Latest Expansion

The Technology
Rumor: Japanese Vita Devs Jumping Ship, Sony Responds
PlayStation 4 not Launching any Time Soon - Sony

Upcoming Events
GDC, San Francisco, March 5-9, 2012
Social Media World Forum - Europe, London, March 27-28, 2012
PAX East, Boston, April 6-8, 2012
DEMO, Silicon Valley, April 17-19, 2012
LA Games Conference, Los Angeles, April 23-24, 2012