It's been awhile since we've heard anything "official" regarding Quake Arena Arcade, the Xbox Live Arcade port of Quake III Arena. For example, we just found out that "Quake Arena Arcade" is the title of the game! First announced nearly two years ago at QuakeCon 2007, the Pi Studios-developed title was MIA until John Carmack told Joystiq in February that the title was "very close" to being finished.

Now, with the power of Twitter at its side, Pi Studios has ushered the very first screenshot of the game into this world. Sure, it's a pretty boring menu screen; however, the more astute amongst you will notice things like: new levels! "Cliffside"? That looks awfully bright and airy compared to the Quake III Arena we remember (see: Arena Gate). Pi Studios' site has some more details on the game: 40 Arenas in single and multiplayer; 16-player multiplayer; leaderboards, matchmaking; and oodles of game modes, including "Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Tournament, Harvester and Overload."

So, "very close" eh? We don't see it in this here Summer of Arcade post ... maybe QuakeCon will bring more news.

[Via Gamerbytes]

Source – Quake Arena Arcade page at PiStudios.com
Source – @QuakeXBLA

While speaking with id Software's John Carmack and Escalation Studios' Tom Mustaine yesterday, we only briefly broached the subject of iPhone game pricing. Doom Resurrection's lofty (by App Store standards) $10 price tag puts it in a particularly prickly situation, with Carmack telling us that "convincing people who've been spending $1 on games to spend $10 is a real problem." We can imagine!

He's not entirely without hope, however, as he looks at Resurrection as a value proposition, trading higher production values for higher costs. In fact, Carmack's hoping to set a precedent with DR that will allow for "bigger iPhone games" in the future -- something he says he'd like to see a lot more of. "There's only so much you can do with games that cost two or three dollars -- there's only so much production value you can put into that," he told us. The clear answer: Make Doom-based alien flatulence apps.

Though he didn't exactly spell out what it's going to be or when it's going to be hitting digital shelves, id Software's John Carmack told us his newest iPhone game will be getting DLC. He let slip yesterday morning during an interview about recently released Doom Resurrection that the game would be getting DLC "sometime soon" -- downloadable content just became an option for iPhone games, with the launch of OS 3.0.

When we pressed him on whether we'd see downloadable anything for the upcoming flood of id Software games coming to the iPhone, he kept his cards a bit closer to his chest, saying it's technically "possible" but nothing's set in stone yet. He also revealed that Resurrection will be getting multiplayer add-ons in the upcoming weeks, so for those of you who already took the $10 plunge, you may want to ask your best buddy to do so as well.

Update: We got some clarification on the DLC from id Software's John Carmack just now, saying, "There won't be any DLC until we have moved the projects to requiring 3.0, and we aren't sure exactly when that will be. Pretty much all of the titles are being set up for DLC in the future. We are prepping the "Spear of Destiny" levels for Wolfenstein 3D classic, and all the various classic games have sequels and mission packs that we can offer. For Resurrection, new content will have to be created from scratch. I expect we will know within a few weeks if the reception to the game is good enough to justify it."

Listen up, QuakeCon attendees: id Software's LANtastic event is changing venues to the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, the location of the show in 2004 and 2005. The people most affected by this change are folks who made reservations at the Hilton Anatole Hotel. Those who made reservations through the QuakeCon website have had their room "automatically canceled." Reservations at the Gaylord Texan will be at an equal or lesser rate, and reservations will begin "very shortly."

The dates for QuakeCon have not changed. The event will be held August 13-16 and is still a free event open to the public; however, if you plan on bringing your own computer, you'll have to register ASAP.

We already knew that recently bought by Bethesda company id Software are looking at a hefty lineup of upcoming iPhone games, but after speaking with company co-founder John Carmack this morning, we found out a little bit more about the potential for more classic reboots, like Doom Resurrection, in the future. "It really depends on how this one is received by consumers before we can make any plans, but I'm very interested in the prospect," Carmack told Joystiq.

Apparently, he's most interested in seeing this treatment for Quake, though he also noted that Quake 3 Arena is still "possible" on Apple's handheld. Why not Quake Live on Apple's OS X, Mr. Carmack? Unfortunately, we ran out of time before we could ask. It is high on his "high priority" list though, right? So we've got something then? John? Hello?

Please?

Speaking with id Software's John Carmack earlier today, we got the sense that the man has a hunk of burnin' love for Apple's iPhone. Aside from bringing a metric ton of classic id titles to the device, the legendary developer let us know that the Wii game once being talked about around the hallowed halls at the company is what eventually became Doom Resurrection.

"We like to think of it as a more guided experience than an on-rails game," Carmack told Joystiq this morning, referring to the game's character control system. "Originally, I was pitched the title as a Wii game -- I dropped some hints about this earlier in the year but nothing substantial, in case the game didn't work out or it wasn't fun or something like that," he continued. Considering the $9.99 asking price of Resurrection versus the $50 a Wii title could have cost, we (and our wallets) are more than happy with Mr. Carmack's choice.

Stat tracking is nothing new for FPS games, but we have to hand it to Raven for being thorough. According to MTV Multiplayer, the upcoming Wolfenstein keeps track of not only how many Nazis you kill, but the manner in which they died. Multiplayer asserts that it saw a stat screen at 36 percent completion, which noted that 639 kills had been made. Using some simple math, the blog calculated that a total of 1638.4 Nazis will meet their doom by the end of the game.

Now, we hate to criticize, but that's assuming the rate of Nazi influx is constant, which it almost assuredly is not. Still, regardless of exactly how many have fallen by the end, we take comfort in the fact that we'll know exactly how many were dissolved, dismembered, burned and electrocuted. Strangely, the game doesn't appear to keep track of the number that have killed the old fashioned way: with a bullet.

When Raven Software's long-in-development Wolfenstein (remember when it was an Xbox 360 timed exclusive back in 2005?) finally hits store shelves this August, it'll mark the end of an era ...

... oh no! Not of Wolfenstein games – there are plenty more of those coming – but of outside developers working on id Software's hallowed franchises. John Carmack told Joystiq today that bringing external development back in-house at id is "exactly what's going to be happening." Carmack says that while id's had some hits (Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory springs to mind) and some misses (Enemy Territory: Quake Wars springs to mind) the externally developed titles haven't "had the same record that our internally developed titles have." We'd have to agree with him there.

With the lead team cranking on Rage for EA Partners, they created a second development team to work on Doom 4, with a still-formative third team currently toiling away on Quake Live. "We'll have three teams," Carmack told us. "We'll have Wolfenstein, Doom, Quake, and Rage and one of them will be taking a vacation each cycle and that will depend on what we want to be doing each time." So don't worry, you'll have plenty of all of the above to go around.

In an interview with Joystiq, id's John Carmack stated that he is "pretty passionate about the benefits of the iPhone" and plans to continue supporting the platform. "I've got a slate of iPhone titles, I expect to have an iPhone release every two or three months for the next year," said Carmack, noting that id will likely continue to plow through its classic titles (hope you like Doom!) before moving on to titles like Doom RPG and Wolfenstein RPG and eventually something based on id's upcoming title Rage.

Carmack stated that iPhone projects don't require much of id's focus, saying, "These are things that get a few people put on them for a little while, are fun for everybody involved."

"So far it looks like they're making pretty good money," said Carmack, "but they're not the blockbuster titles that they go do $100 million dollars."

Read the entire interview with John Carmack and Zenimax CEO Robert Altman right here.

Following yesterday's news that ZeniMax – the parent company of Fallout 3-developer Bethesda – had purchased id Software – one of the most successful, and long-standing, independent video game developers of all time – we had a chance to speak with ZeniMax CEO Robert Altman and id co-founder (and industry legend) John Carmack.

Joystiq: How long has the acquisition process been in development?

Robert Altman: I had my first meeting with [id Software CEO] Todd Hollenshead at E3 a year ago. We had a general discussion about how our two companies might explore matters of mutual interest and the conversations then took place over the ensuing months. So it's been almost a year, on and off, that we've been having these conversations.

And how long has Bethesda – or ZeniMax in this case– been looking to expand that studio range outside of just Bethesda and Vir2L,etc.?

Well, that was unexpected. id Software, the game studio behind Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein, and the upcoming Rage, has just been acquired by ZeniMax, parent company of Fallout 3 developer Bethesda Softworks.

Despite the acquisition, ZeniMax expects id Software to continue operating as before. "No changes will be made in the operations of id Software in the development of its games," the press release states. "id Software will continue to operate as a studio under the direction of its founder, John Carmack ... All the principals at id Software have signed long-term employment contracts, assuring they will continue in their roles developing games in the future." In other words, don't expect major folks at id to jump ship.

A large emphasis is being placed on how id will benefit from ZeniMax resources. "Our role will be to provide publisher support through Bethesda Softworks and give id Software the resources it needs to grow and expand," said Robert Altman, founder and CEO of ZeniMax Media. "Our intention is to make sure id Software will continue to do what they do best – make AAA games." Todd Hollenshead, CEO of id Software, also agrees that the acquisition will result in better financial security for the team: "We will now have financial and business resources to support the future growth of id Software, a huge advantage which will result in more and even better games for our fans."

While it appears id has much to gain from the merger, we're more intrigued by what Bethesda can gain. While Fallout 3 has earned heaps of critical praise, many will agree that graphics tech is far from Bethesda's strong suit. With Carmack and idTech now owned by ZeniMax, future Bethesda titles are sure to benefit. See John Carmack's statement after the break.

Assassins are usually very discreet and very deadly, and those found in upcoming Wolfenstein appear to be no different. In the trailer above, we get a good glimpse at what these near-invisible, blade-wielding stalkers can do (see: stab you silly). Thankfully, BJ has his trusty Veil Sight to help him spot what's hiding around him, and lots of guns to put these baddies down.

And because we couldn't waste this gem of a one-liner: Assassins do it in the dark.

If you think id Software would gloat openly about the cancellation of its one-time competitor, Duke Nukem Forever, you may be surprised to hear the reaction of Steve Nix, director of business development for id:

"For me it was personally sad," he told Videogamer. "I know a lot of people at the studio were really surprised and saddened for sure." He went on to explain the historical connection between the two companies: "We had originally moved to Dallas because Apogee, who morphed into 3D Realms, was our original publisher. So id might not even be in Dallas and a lot of us wouldn't even be working in the games industry if it wasn't for Apogee and 3D Realms."

Nix said that he "thought (the news of the cancellation) was a joke when I heard the other day." He also noted that id is currently hiring, and that "There are some really talented guys in (3D Realms) so it very well could happen that some of them end up at id." Overall, it's a pretty measured and sensitive response from the company who popularized "gibs."

Luminary Shigeru Miyamoto hasn't lost his shimmer in the eyes of game developers, with a recent industry poll finding the Nintendo icon to be without equal. The survey, commissioned by organizers of next month's Develop Conference, asked 9,000 devs to name their game development hero, with nearly a third of respondents pointing to Miyamoto as the man with the plan.

The popularity contest also named id Software's John Carmack as the next most idealized developer, followed by Maxis and now Stupid Fun Club brainpan Will Wright. The top ten list of industry highlights was rounded out by Braid dev Jonathan Blow, who's likely too busy rewinding time (to see if he can somehow land higher on the ballot) to care.