The bulk of the layoffs reportedly came at Trion Worlds’ San Diego, California outfit, where Defiance is in development. A source added that senior leaders may not receive severance packages due to “undelivered services.”

The layoff rumors come a week after SyFy ordered a second season of Defiance the TV show and Trion Worldslaid out extensive downloadable content plans for the game.

Defiance has more than 1 million registered players.

Trion Worlds also has US offices in Redwood Shores, California and Austin, Texas. In addition, the company operates a studio in London, England.

Trion Worlds could not be reached for comment at press time.

Credit GameSpot for breaking this story

The original Plants vs. Zombies launched in 2009 for PC and Mac and later spread to a number of platforms, including Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and Nintendo DS.

The tower defense-style Plants vs. Zombies series has players use a number of varied plants to protect their homes from zombie masses.

As part of the agreement, EA will create new Star Wars titles for a “core gaming audience.” These games will span “all interactive platforms” and “the most popular game genres.” Disney, meanwhile, will retain rights to create new Star Wars games for mobile, social, tablet, and online markets.

“Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe,” EA Labels president Frank Gibeau said in a statement. “Three of our top studios will fulfill that dream, crafting epic adventures for Star Wars fans.”

Battlefield studio DICE and Dead Space outfit Visceral Games are currently making new Star Wars games, joining BioWare, which will continue to support Star Wars: The Old Republic. The new games from DICE and Visceral will run on the Frostbite 3 engine.

“The new experiences we create may borrow from films, but the games will be entirely original with all new stories and gameplay,” Gibeau said.

Financial terms of the EA-Disney deal were not disclosed. EA will report earnings tomorrow after market close, where more information about the deal is expected to be divulged.

Looks to me like two big game studios that are in trouble are trying to save each other. But will consumers and fans buy the product? That remains to be seen.

Credit to GameSpot for breaking this story.

Breaking News Update. We are working to get a statement from EA and 6 of the studios this will directly affect.

In other breaking news, EA is reportedly closing TIBURON in Orlando Florida.

Reports have the studio relocating to Austin, Texas. And have it coming under the EA Brand and no longer using the Tiburon Name.

Stay tuned for more updates and Breaking news

EA the company that makes titles such as Madden, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, and FIFA World Cup, just to name a few has reportedly laid off or is in process of laying off over 1100 workers or 10% of its workforce.

We have documented here at The Gaming Post that EA has been in financial trouble. This coming after blunder after blunder. Rumors have been abundant that Tiburon the studio owned by EA that makes madden would be moving out of Orlando.

We have been hit with several cease and desist requests regarding this information. And now today comes the news today from people high up inside EA that these cuts have come straight across the board.

Shutting down some studios and severely limiting others.

We will publish more information as it becomes available.

If you recognize either of these suspects please contact the FBI at 1800 CALL FBI

[Breaking news update at 1:28 p.m. Wednesday ]

Boston University graduate student Lingzu Lu has been identified by the school as the third person who died in Monday’s bombings at the Boston Marathon.

[Original story, posted at 1:11 p.m. Wednesday]

(CNN) — Investigators believe they have identified a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, a source who has been briefed on the investigation told CNN’s John King exclusively.

The breakthrough came from analysis of video from a department store near the site of the second explosion. Video from a Boston television station also contributed to the progress, said the source, who declined to be more specific but called it a significant development.

Earlier, a federal law enforcement source with firsthand knowledge of the investigation told CNN that a lid to a pressure cooker thought to have been used in the bombings had been found on a roof of a building near the scene.

While such clues may move the investigation forward, they did not reveal whether the attack was an act of domestic or foreign terrorism.

“If your experience and your expertise is Middle East terrorism, it has the hallmarks of al Qaeda or a Middle East group,” former FBI Assistant Director Tom Fuentes said. “If your experience is domestic groups and bombings that have occurred here, it has the hallmarks of a domestic terrorist like Eric Rudolph in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics bombings.”

On their own, they’re simple household items.

Pressure cookers. Nails. Nylon bags.

But combine them with explosives, and you can get the kind of bombs that investigators now suspect were used to turn the finish line of the Boston Marathon into a bloody nightmare.

Scraps of them found at the scene of the twin bombings are being sent to the FBI’s national laboratory, where technicians will try to reconstruct the devices, the federal agent leading the investigation said Tuesday. Meanwhile, investigators combed through a digital mountain of photos and video clips and asked the public for help finding who planted them at two points on Boylston Street.

“Someone knows who did this,” said Rick DesLauriers, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston office. “Cooperation from the community will play a crucial role in this investigation.”

DesLauriers asked people to report anyone who talked about targeting Monday’s race or showed interest in explosives. He urged anyone who might have heard the sounds of explosions in remote areas — possibly by someone testing a bomb — or saw someone carrying “an unusually heavy, dark-colored bag” around Monday to come forward.

There has been no claim of responsibility, DesLauriers said. “The range of suspects and motives remains wide open,” he said.

The U.S. government has warned federal agencies in the past that pressure cookers — airtight pots used to quickly cook or preserve foods — have been packed with explosives and shrapnel and detonated with blasting camps. A law enforcement official said Monday’s bombs were likely detonated by timers.

The pieces recovered so far suggest the devices, which were identical, could carry 6 liters (1.5 gallons) of liquid apiece, a Boston law enforcement source said. The parts found include a partial circuit board, which would be used to detonate a device.

‘Very effective’ bombs

Pressure cooker bombs can be “very effective,” terrorism expert Jeff Beatty told CNN. Taliban and al Qaeda militants “use them to make their IEDs,” he said.

“That doesn’t mean it was the Taliban — other people can read about this,” said Beatty, who served in the FBI, CIA and the military’s Delta Force.

But so far, investigators have found no foreign or al Qaeda connection to the bombings, a U.S. official told CNN. And Sen. Saxby Chambliss, the ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told reporters in Washington that some of the facts suggest the carnage had its roots in American soil.

“There are a lot of things that are surrounding this that would give an indication that it may have been a domestic terrorist, but that just can’t be assumed,” Chambliss said.

We’ve been hit before on home soil

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the bombings don’t appear to be harbingers of “a broader plot.” But she urged Americans “to remain vigilant and immediately report any signs of suspicious activity to local law enforcement officials.”

And members of Congress who were briefed by Obama administration officials on told reporters that the field of possible suspects remains wide open.

“We really don’t know if it’s a foreign or domestic threat,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Homeland Security Commitee. “We don’t know whether this was a homegrown terrorist or part of a wider conspiracy.”

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper held closed-door talks with the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday. Chambliss,R-Georgia, told reporters afterward that “there’s not a whole lot of update to give.”

Video, DNA will help bomb investigation//

Obama: We will get to the bottom of this

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Listen to police radio after the bombing

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Boston witness: It was a war zone

What we know about the bombings so far

“This is a very fluid investigation. The FBI’s in the lead, and I personally know the special agent in charge. He’s one of the best,” Chambliss said.

Late Monday, authorities searched the apartment of a young Saudi man who was among the wounded at the race. He was found to have no connection to the attack.

“He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time,” the U.S. official said.

A Saudi woman, a medical student who was also injured in the blast, has also been interviewed by investigators, according to a law enforcement source.

Boston’s ‘most complex crime scene’ ever

Investigators are combing what Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis called “the most complex crime scene that we’ve dealt with in the history of our department.” The cordoned off area has been reduced from 15 blocks to 12 and will be reduced further in coming days, he said.

Even the smallest bits of debris could help indicate the bombs’ “signature,” said a federal law enforcement official who works in the intelligence community. The explosives themselves were small, and initial tests showed no C-4 or other high-grade explosive material — suggesting the packages used in the attack were crude devices.

Based on the bombs’ effects, the devices could have been small enough to be concealed in small bags or boxes, a law enforcement official said. The smoke was consistent with a “low-velocity improvised explosive mixture, perhaps flash powder or sugar chlorate mixture,” the official said.

When the pieces that have been recovered are sent to the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, investigators will try to better understand how they worked and look for clues like fingerprints, DNA or serial numbers to help track who planted them, the Boston law enforcement source said.

Authorities haven’t given any timetable as to when they expect significantly new details. But DesLauriers vowed Tuesday that the more than 1,000 law enforcement officers from more than 30 agencies will get results, even if they have to go “to the ends of the Earth” to get them.

“Our mission is clear: to bring to justice those responsible,” he said. “The American public wants answers. The citizens of the city of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts want and deserve answers.”

Boston heroes: Running to help

Authorities have begun to search through huge amounts of video and images from surveillance cameras in the area near the attack. So far, no footage has been spotted showing someone placing the bombs, a law enforcement source said.

Authorities have asked anyone with images from any part of the marathon to share them with police.

“People don’t know that they were witnesses — that they might actually have evidence in their phones or in their cameras,” Juliette Kayyem, President Obama’s former assistant secretary for homeland security, said on CNN’s “Starting Point.”

Davis vowed authorities will sift “through every frame of every video.”

The FBI is likely issuing subpoenas for records from cell towers in the area to isolate and trace calls from around Copley Square at the time of the blasts, according to a federal law enforcement official.

Doctors believe bombs contained sharp objects

Two doctors overseeing treatment of the injured believe the explosive devices contained nails or similar objects.

Many patients have severe wounds “related to the blast effect of the bomb as well as small metallic fragments that entered their body,” including “pellets” and “nail-like objects,” said Dr. George Velmahos, head of trauma care at Massachusetts General Hospital.

A variety of sharp objects were found inside the patients’ bodies, he said, adding that the bombs probably contained multiple metallic fragments.

Asked whether what was found in the patients’ bodies could have come from nearby objects that exploded in the blast, Velmahos said he believes the materials were likely part of the explosive devices.

Map of the explosion sites

Ron Walls, chair of emergency medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said most patients there were wounded by “ordinary debris.” But three were injured by “perfectly round objects” that were “very uniform, consistent, metallic,” he said. And another patient had more than 12 carpenter-type nails.

“There is no question some of these objects were implanted in the device for the purpose of being exploded forward,” Wall said.

No unexploded bombs

Suspicious packages that were detonated out of precaution after the bombings turned out not to be explosive devices after all.

After the blasts Monday, some officials reported that explosive devices that failed to go off were found.

But investigators said Tuesday the only bombs were the two that exploded at the marathon.

The intelligence community is poring through all threat reporting for any clues, U.S. counterterrorism officials told CNN.

That includes any claims made on jihadist websites. Nothing is being dismissed this early on, the officials said.

If you know anything, Have photo’s videos etc, Please contact the FBI or the Boston Police Dept immediately!!!   1800 CALL FBI

Thank you everyone for the kindness and help towards the people of Boston in this time of need.

The New Jersey SAFE Task Force has released a comprehensive report calling on Republican Governor Chris Christie to regulate games sold in the state, increase educational efforts about games, and review violent media overall as a means to help stamp out mass violence.

“The interactive nature of video games, as opposed to other forms of media, may dictate particular regulation of such games,” the group wrote.

The first regulatory action the group recommends is requiring minors be accompanied by an adult when purchasing games with an M or AO rating, as judged by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB). The task force also recommends a “request for identification” for the sale or rental of games with M or AO ratings.

On top of this, the group seeks to require game retailers to “conspicuously” display ESRB ratings at the point of sale. These retailers should also develop, maintain, and display their own policy on selling M or AO games, the group said.

Another bullet point on the task force’s recommendation list to Christie is the removal of violent games from state property, namely highway rest areas. The appropriate authority with jurisdiction over such property should “consider the practicality and feasibility of regulating those video games to ensure that violent games are not made available to children,” the group wrote.

The New Jersey SAFE Task Force also would like to see the state conduct a review concerning whether or not violent media is inappropriately marketed to young people.

“Specifically with regard to violent video games, the Task Force encourages the appropriate agency to explore the question of whether retailers should be required to label video games with stickers, in addition to the ESRB rating symbol, to make clear the appropriate age range for a particular video game,” the group said.

Concerning education, the task force said it recommends that the Department of Education (or another appropriate agency) help educate parents about how to make “healthy” media choices for their children. On top of this, the group said it advises industry associations within the state to conduct a comprehensive public information campaign to bolster understanding of media ratings systems.

“Our recommendations are provided cognizant of the fact that violent media has received a great deal of blame for youth violence in the recent past, but most people agree that exposure to media violence alone does not cause a child to commit a violent act,” the group wrote.

“While several major public health organizations have voiced their shared conviction that exposure to violent media leads to more aggressive attitudes, values and behavior, they have also acknowledged that it is not the sole, or even the most important, factor contributing to youth aggression, anti-social attitudes, and violence,” the statement goes on.

Recommendations for action regarding video games are just one part of the task force’s five-chapter, 83-page report to Christie. Other highlights include calls for new gun control measures, new strategies to combat urban violence, various mental health initiatives, and new school safety guidelines.

Christie is in no way bound to follow through on any of the recommendations, as the report is first and foremost a guide to help the governor prioritize these initiatives he feels are most appropriate and pressing.

One of the report’s recommendations is already being acted upon. Following the publication of the report, assemblywoman Linda Stender (D-Middlesex/Somerset/Union) announced plans to introduce a bill that would ban video games containing mature and adult content in public places.

“Games that are meant for older, more mature audiences have no place in places where children can easily access them. Video games alone do not influence violent behavior, but they can play a role. Some of the most prolific mass shootings not just in this country, but in the world had links to violent video games,” Stender said in a statement.

“The longer a child is exposed to video games where killing is the sole objective, the greater the chance that he or she will become numb to this type of behavior and even consider it acceptable. This bill would ensure that video games with graphic adult content would not be available to children who are not old enough to make a distinction between fantasy and reality.”

If signed into law, the legislation would prohibit M- and AO-rated games from public spaces and carry a fine of no more than $10,000 for a first offense and no more than $20,000 for any subsequent offense. On top of the monetary fines, a violation could result in cease and desist orders from the Attorney General, punitive damages, and the awarding of treble damages (three times the amount), and cost to the injured.

Stender’s bill is not the only such piece of game legislation to go before the New Jersey Assembly. Earlier this month, republican state lawmakers Sean Kean and Holly Schepisi introduced a bill that would make unlawful the sale of an M- or AO-rated game in the state to any person under the age of 18 without parental consent. In this case, consent means the purchaser’s parent or guardian is present during the transaction and consents to the sale either verbally or through writing.

The bill specifies that anyone caught selling such games to minors would have committed an unlawful practice, which under the Consumer Fraud Act is punishable by a penalty of not more than $10,000 for a first offense and not more than $20,000 for any subsequent offense. Violators could also face further legal action from the state Attorney General, similar to Stender’s legislation listed above.

Video games have been a much-discussed topic since December’s Connecticut schoolhouse massacre. A reportedly “deranged gamer” killed 20 children and six adults before taking his own life on December 14 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Most recently, Democratic California Senator Dianne Feinstein argued that violent games can serve as simulators for would-be mass murderers.