Confirmed: EA guts Pandemic

 Update: A Shacknews report confirms that EA has cut a large potion of the workforce at Pandemic, but says that it  is not getting rid of the studio, - it is  consolidating it into a “core team” and moving it to EALA. Here’s what EA said officially:

“Pandemic Studios and its franchises will be relocated to the EALA facility in nearby Playa Vista,” a rep for the company told Shacknews. “This move has resulted in a reduction in the work force at Pandemic…That said, the Pandemic brand and franchises will continue to live on. A core team of Pandemic developers will move to EALA and continue development on Pandemic games with a focus on quality, cost management and schedule integrity.”

Original Story: Is the other shoe about to drop for Panedemic’s L.A. studio? According to this Kotaku report, citing reliable sources close to the situation, EA will lay off most of Pandemic’s Los Angeles studio at 11 AM PST. The Saboteur, the current project being developed by Pandemic will  be shifted to Army of Two developer EA Montreal - also according to the Kotaku report.

Pandemic’s Brisbane studio, which was developing a game adaption of the latest Batman film, The Dark Knight, was cut loose from the EA family in January of this year. Pandemic is best known for developing such franchises as Full Spectrum Warrior, Mercenaries, Star Wars: Battlefront and Destroy All Humans.

If this rumor is true it means that most of the 200 people that work at Pandemic L.A. will be out of work right before the holidays, which is absolutly horrible, but a typical move by corporations in the fourth quarter. Earlier in the month EA laid off a large number of employees from its Maxis studio. No doubt EA will be making cuts across the board as it tries to hit the restructuring number of 1500 before the next fiscal quarter in March 2010.

We’ll have more on this story as it develops and hopefully an official confirmation or denial from EA soon.

Hudson’s Help Wanted Released

Hudson’s game of finding gainful employment, Help Wanted,  is now in stores for the Wii. Described as a wacky job compilation video game,  Help Wanted sees players join the workforce to tackle some 50 odd and quirky jobs including Astronaut, Tailor, Bodybuilder, Clown, Sky Diving Camera Man, Boat Captain and more.  Of course, the game is really about saving the world from impending extinction, so players will spend the money they earn on defense items to prevent a meteor from hitting the earth. It’s like Armageddon, but without an Aerosmith soundtrack, big stars or a plot.. Okay, it’s not anything like that.

With each dollar earned players can spend their salary on new job uniforms to join different careers and make even more money.  In addition, players buy the aforementioned special defensive goods that will help to save the planet or delay its extinction from a meteor. The game includes multiple difficulty levels that change up the game play elements and a multiplayer feature that allows for head-to-head play with 15 different jobs.

Help Wanted Gold

Help Wanted, Hudson Entertainment’s job simulation videogame from has gone gold. Help Wanted is published by Hudson Entertainment, and will be available exclusively for the Nintendo Wii console on May 12th. Help Wanted is a compellation of mini-games that lets players try out wacky jobs filled with silly and fun humor.

In Help Wanted, players can prepare to join the workforce as they try their hand at 50 odd jobs including Astronaut, Dairy Farmer, Bodybuilder, Clown, Sushi Master, Boat Captain and more. In order to save the world from impending extinction, players need to earn money at the various jobs to buy defense items to prevent a meteor from hitting the earth. Where is Bruce Willis and the gang when you need them? Queue Aerosmith music.

Look for help wanted in stores later next month.

2K Boston Hiring

Someone wants you to be “big in Boston” if you have the skills to get the job done.. 2K Boston passed along word that it will be recruiting at the Game developers Conference next week. The team that developed the first Bioshock game is looking to fill some spots, with an emphasis on programming, design, art, audio and production.

2K Boston passed along word that it will be recruiting at the Game developers Conference next week. The team that developed the first Bioshock game is looking to fill some spots, with an emphasis on programming, design, art, audio and production.

If you’ve got the skills and don’t mind working in Boston, send your resume Jobs@2KBoston.com or catch up with them next week in San Francisco.

Just for fun, you can check out the brochure the company pass along, after the break..

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Mythic Taking More Cuts

Mythic VP Mark Jacobs revealed on the Warhammer Online website that the company is reducing its staff as part of an overall plans set by parent company EA. Jacobs doesn’t go into detail about how many jobs have been actually cut, but word on the street has it that the numbers could be as high as 130 and as low as 60 jobs lost. In January the company cut 25 from its staff, though most were providing customer service and quality assurance testing.

Yesterday EA revealed that Mythic’s Warhammer Online had 300,000 subscribers, well below the number it managed to garner at launch: 500, 000. this news certainly couldn’t have helped the company retain staff, even though this is a pretty crucial time for the MMO; the game will soon be launching in Russia, will host the first of its giant in-game events (and new content to go along with them) and is currently taking the game on tour to places like New York comic-Con.

Jacobs says that the company is still committed to creating and delivering the best WAR experience and maintaining the trust of the players by providing content and services to keep them playing.

THQ Cuts Jobs, Consolidates Studios

Much like the Electronic Arts, THQ’s latest financial results are not good news. The company announced that, given market conditions and the continuing economic reality, it would be cutting 24 percent of its work force. That amounts to about 600 jobs. We already know that 100 of those jobs were lost in late January when the company cut staff at its San Diego, Germany, and UK mobile divisions. The company also said that it would reduce the number of studios it runs, but did not give specifics on which studios it was talking about.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, THQ reported a net loss of $191.8 million, compared to earnings of $15.5 million a year ago. Excluding one-time items and stock-options charges, the company said it would have lost $9.6 million. Revenue fell 30 percent to $357.3 million.

CEO Brian Farrell, said during an investor call today that THQ plans to reduce the number of hardcore games it develops. That means more games like de Blob, budget titles and licensed properties like Nickelodeon, WWE and UFC.

Intel Could Cut 6,000 Jobs

Intel announced this morning that it will cut an estimated 5,000 - 6,000 employees to streamline its operations. The cuts are going to be global, affecting a number of its manufacturing plants including Fab 20 in Hillsboro, Oregon; test facilities in Penang, Malaysia and Cavite, Philippines; and the D2 facility in Santa Clara, California.

Intel says that some of the employees at these plants may be offered new positions inside the company, bringing that 5,000 - 6,000 number down a bit lower.

Today’s revelation is an exclamation point that technology, video games and even the movie industry 0 sectors often considered recession proof are not resistant to the serious global financial crisis that has not yet found rock bottom.

Intel joins Microsoft, Sony, Samsung, Nokia, EA, Eidos, AMD and many other companies that have announced serious job cuts to deal with declining sales, a lack of credit and a less than friendly financial atmosphere.