by Chris Remo, Jul 25, 2006 8:10pm PDT
Well, Shackers, I've been working here for a year now. My first console news column went up on July 25, 2005. The time since then has gone pretty quickly! It's nice to be able to write for a site whose readers frequently post responses that are actually interesting, not to mention comprehensible. There is not exactly an overabundance of gaming news sites about which one could make that claim. So, thanks!
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Wii Releasing on October 1?
[nintendo] With Nintendo keeping quiet lately about its upcoming Wii console, one rumor topic that has been consistenly popping up is that of the machine's still unannounced release date. Earlier this month, various industry sources pegged October as the most likely month for the system's release. Today, Nintendo announced release dates for its fall first party DS lineup (see news item below), and along with the schedule came an intriguing hint: The fourth quarter of 2006 will herald a new era for Nintendo with the launch of its remarkable new Wii(TM) home video game system. But that's not what this news item is about! How could that be, you ask? Perhaps the secret to the launch information for Wii is somehow encoded in the text of this news item. You might want to pore over it for a few hours before staying up all night to debate phraseology and comma placement with your friends online. Or maybe it's all just a scam to get you to read the other games we have launching this fall. One of the two.
It's impossible to know for sure whether there's any substance to the clue or not--and Nintendo certainly isn't saying anything further on the matter--but, assuming Nintendo does intend for us to read between the line, various internet detectives have inferred a couple potential dates. Nintendo has stated that Wii will be released in the fourth quarter of 2006, and company president Satoru Iwata promised that its North American release date will come before Thanksgiving, which means the machine will ship between October 1 and November 22. Nintendo may plan to set aside Wii's release week and briefly avoid diverting marketing to DS titles, and the only weeks falling within the Wii launch timeframe that are not also mentioned on the given release schedule are the weeks of October 1 and November 20. November 20, in addition to cutting it quite close to Thanksgiving, also happens to come days after the release of Sony's PlayStation 3; most industry sources seem convinced that Nintendo will want to pre-empt its competitor. That leaves the week of October 1, and if Nintendo follows its own tradition and releases the hardware on a Sunday--which it has done in North America for Nintendo 64, GameCube, Game Boy Advance SP, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Micro, and DS Lite--that would suggest the date is October 1 itself. Of course, this is all just rumor and speculation. -
Rampage Climbs to Wii and DS?
[nintendo] [ds] Recently, sharp eyed gamers noticed new game listings added to retailer CD Universe and rental site GameFly. The game in question is Midway's Rampage: Total Destruction, listed as coming to Wii and Nintendo DS. Midway also released the game earlier this year for PlayStation 2 and GameCube. An followup to the classic city-destroying sidescrolling arcade hit, Total Destruction enjoyed a less than stellar critical reaction upon its release, but Midway must see something in the title. To solidify the rumors, GameSpot has apparently received word from a source close to the publisher that the Wii and DS games will be announced soon. "It won't be long now," claimed the source. Midway has already announced plans to support Wii with versions of its football franchise Blitz: The League, as well as movie license games Happy Feet and The Ant Bully. -
SingStar Heads Over to North America
[ps2] Sony Computer Entertainment America today released a fact sheet indicating that SCE London's popular SingStar karaoke franchise for PlayStation 2 will finally be making the trek over to North American shores. Entitled simply SingStar, the game is set to arrive this fall. It supports up to 8 players, and comes bundled with two karaoke microphones and 30 songs. The game also has support for the PS2's EyeToy camera, allowing players to insert their own images into music videos. -
Square Enix Announces Summer Release Dates
[ps2] [ds] [psp] Square Enix today announced the North American details of its summer lineup, consisting of three upcoming games for PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS, and one that has already been released for PSP. Systems and developers are listed in parenthesis. - July 18: Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth (PSP, tri-Ace) - Aug. 15: Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII (PS2, Square Enix) - Sep. 19: Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime (NDS, TOSE/Square Enix) - Sep. 26: Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria (PS2, tri-Ace) Dirge of Cerberus and Valkyrie Profile 2 have both been bumped up a week from their previously known dates.
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Nintendo Announces DS Release Dates (and More)
[nintendo] Nintendo today announced the North American release schedule for its first party fall lineup for Nintendo DS. Developers are listed in parenthesis. - Oct. 9: Clubhouse Games (Nintendo) - Oct. 16: Nintendogs Dalmatian (Nintendo) - Oct. 23: Magical Starsign (Brownie Brown) - Oct. 30: Pokemon Ranger (HAL Laboratories) - Oct. 30: Children of Mana (Square Enix) - Nov. 6: Elite Beat Agents (iNiS) - Nov. 13: Yoshi's Island 2 (Artoon) - Dec. 4: Custom Robo Arena (Noise) - Dec. 4: Kirby Squeak Squad (HAL Laboratories) Though the announcement only specifically covered DS releases, Nintendo revealed that Tose and Square Enix's Final Fantasy V Advance will be released on November 6. The company also reaffirmed that The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will be available for GameCube this fall and for Wii upon the system's launch ("That will all happen on... Oh look, we're out of space," reads the press release).
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PSP Greatest Hits Launch Today
[psp] As noted last week, today Sony Computer Entertainment America launched its Greatest Hits program for PSP, which sees five titles repriced to an affordable $19.99. These are SCEA's Ape Escape: On the Loose, Climax's ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails, Clap Hanz' Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee, Incognito's Twisted Metal: Head On, and SCE Studios Liverpool's Wipeout Pure -
Misc. Q&As/Features
On FileShack, we've got the Gears of War (X360) Fan Site Kit sent over from Epic. GameSpot has a Q&A on SCE London's SingStar (PS2), today announced for North America.
Caveman Games for the NES. "Because after all.. the world needed a shoddy Track & Field clone with cavemen and dinosaurs. Data East does it again." (submitted by volitionism)
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by Chris Remo, Jun 20, 2006 10:30am PDT
In December, news surfaced that the NHL Player's Association was attempting to make a deal granting Electronic Arts the exclusive use of NHL player names in hockey games, without the consent of the NHL itself. NHL officials were upset by the NHLPA's actions, and wanted to see 2K Sports, owner of Kush and Visual Concepts' NHL 2K series, included. This week, the NHL and the NHLPA mutually announced that both EA and 2K Sports would be granted multi-year agreements to the use of all NHL/NHLPA licensed material in hockey games. So far, 2K Sports has published the only next generation hockey game, with Xbox 360 launch title NHL 2K6. Under the agreement, later this year EA will release NHL 07, and 2K Sports will release NHL 2K7.
"We're excited to extend our relationship with EA and 2K Sports since they have long been on the cutting edge of the sports gaming category, and are now leading the way in the development of next generation, three-dimensional gaming," said Ken Kim, NHLPA Senior Director, Business. "NHL players are fans of these titles as well, and they, like the gamers, can't wait to see the year-to-year advances that are made to replicate the intensity of a real NHL game.
This announcement comes in contrast to recent deals regarding EA and 2K competing for sports licenses; EA currently owns the exclusive rights to publish NFL games, and 2K owns the exclusive third party rights to publish MLB games.
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by Chris Remo, May 01, 2006 8:25pm PDT
Down in the previews section you may notice a new video for New Super Mario Bros. (DS) hosted on Nintendo's official game site. For those crying foul over Mario's polygonal rather than spritely form, I submit this video as justification of why the 3D route was taken. There are an absolutely ridiculous amount of individual animations going on depending on what Mario is doing and how he's doing it, and a 3D model is very conducive to that kind of fluidity and variety.
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Ubisoft Exhibits Sound Marketing Judgment
[xbox360] Ubisoft today announced that it will be publishing From Software's Xbox role-playing game RPG [eM] -eNCHANT arM- in North America and Europe. The game was released by that name in Japan earlier this year, but Ubisoft has rather wisely changed the name to make it a bit more appropriate (and pronouncable) to Western Audiences. It now goes by the more mundane, but less aggravating, Enchanted Arms. "Enchanted Arms is the first classic Japanese RPG game created specifically for Xbox 360," said Ubisoft's Jay Cohen, vice president of publishing at Ubisoft. "With its fast-action gameplay, stunning high-definition graphics, rich and colorful environments, and over an hour of anime-style cinematics, itâ??s a must-have for every Xbox 360 owner." Enchanted Arms casts the player as a rising hero in a millenium-old war, with the ability to collect dozens of different controllable creatures. Ubisoft promises 50 hours of gameplay and turn-based battle system. Enchanted Arms ships in North America and Europe this summer, and is likely to be at E3. -
SNK Says, "Wii!"
[nintendo] Speaking to IGN, arcade favorite SNK today revealed Metal Slug Anthology for Wii. Every version of Metal Slug released in arcades since the series' 1996 Neo-Geo inception will be included, as will "many additional surprises" (been spending too much time around Nintendo PR, eh SNK?). Control schemes taking advantage of the motion-sensing Wii controller have been added; it is unclear whether a traditional control scheme will also be uncluded via the promised traditional controller "shell", or how the new control scheme will work. "Fans worldwide have been looking forward to our return to Nintendo platforms and what better way then to bring our complete Metal Slug arcade collection to Wii," said SNK Playmore USA president Ben Herman. "The Wii controller will be used in a new and unique way that enhances the gameplay. Our fans have demanded that we support Nintendo platforms. Let the celebration begin." No release date was given for Metal Slug Anthology, though the game will be present at E3. -
Grasshopper Gets Busy
[ps2] [ps3] [nintendo] [ds] Goichi Suda's studio Grasshopper Manufacture has been announcing projects left and right recently. For an independent company with just a few dozen employees, the company has been taking on an impressive amount of development. Last week, some more Grasshopper news appeared, including two more game announcements. - Famitsu reported that Grasshopper is developing an adaptation of the Blood+ anime series, to be published by Namco Bandai Games for PlayStation 2. Entitled Blood+ One Night Kiss, the game puts the player in the role of the series' protagonist Saya and a new character named Aoyama. One Night Kiss is being directed by Grasshopper CEO Suda, who gained fame as the director of Grasshopper's unorthadox Killer 7 (PS2, GCN). This marks the second time Grasshopper has worked on an anime-based game for Namco Bandai; the two companies recently shipped Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked (PS2). (Note that there is also an entirely separate Blood+ game being developed and published by Sony, also for PlayStation 2.) - Suda also revealed a horror game concept, Kurayami, planned for PlayStation 3. Kurayami takes heavy inspiration from the writing of Franz Kafka, though it is not specifically based on any of the author's works. Rather, the game will draw from the surreal and uncomfortable themes for which Kafka is known. The game's protagonist finds himself in a strange village and must find his way out, confronted at every turn by frightening situations and darkness. Kurayami is unfortunately still in planning phases, likely since Grasshopper already has so much on its plate, and no publisher has been announced, so don't expect to see it at E3. - Multiple rumors have sprung up lately that Grasshopper's Wii project, which Suda announced some time ago but which has been kept in total secrecy since, may be in E3 at some form behind closed doors. When contacted by Shacknews about the matter, Nintendo had no official response, and since the game's publisher has not been announced (if it has one), it looks like we'll have to wait until next week to know for sure. Grasshopper also recently released Contact (DS) in Japan, and Atlus will be showing the game at E3 as well as releasing it in North America this summer. Then, on top of all that, there are rumors that Suda and Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima may be collaborating. Take that last bit with a considerable amount of salt, however. -
Namco Bandai at E3
[ps3] [xbox360] Namco Bandai Games has revealed its next-gen lineup for E3, consisting of two games each for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. - Culdcept Saga, a new Xbox 360 iteration of the bizarre cult classic board game/card game hybrid franchise Culdcept, will be at the show. The game was previously announced at a Japanese press conference, but has only now been confirmed for release in North America. - Mobile Ops: One Year War, the technically-based-on-Gundam mecha title announced last week, will be shown. - Ridge Racer hasn't missed the launch of a PlayStation system yet, and it doesn't look like that's going to change. The seventh main game in the series was recently revealed in Famitsu, and will be at E3. - Tekken 6, first shown in teaser form at last year's E3, will return to this year's E3. -
Indie Built Gets Un-Built
[xbox360] [ds] [gba] According to GameSpot, Take-Two-owned developer Indie Built has been officially dissolved. The company, originally known as Access Software, has had a storied history in the games industry. First entering the gaming market with the classic Tex Murphy series of adventure games and then the longrunning Links series of golf games, Access Software was redubbed Indie when it was purchased by Microsoft in the late 90s. Indie created the Amped snowboarding series and the Top Spin tennis series during its tenure with Microsoft. It was then purchased by Take-Two, where it released sequels in both of those franchises. Most recently came Amped 3 (X360) and Top Spin 2 (X360, DS, GBA). Former co-owners Chris Jones and Bruce Carver left the company some time after its acquisition by Take-Two. Aaron Conners, who co-created Tex Murphy with Jones, was still at Indie Built as of the development of Amped 3. Studio employees have been offered other positions within Take-Two's internal development. Take-Two also owns the rights to Amped, Links, and Top Spin as part of its 2K Sports label.
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GameCube to Get Price Drop?
[gamecube] According to GameSpot, retailers have been receiving marketing materials suggesting that the Nintendo GameCube will be getting a price drop in the near future. The system is currently priced at $99.99, but the amount of the alleged discount is not known. GameCube's sales have been floundering in recent years, largely due to waning third party software support resulting in a slow pace of new games. Furthermore, with Wii having complete backwards compatibility with the machine later this year, the number of reasons to pick up a new GameCube have been dropping, making the rumors of a price drop seem likely true. Don't be surprised if an official announcement is made during Nintendo's press conference next week. -
Misc. Q&As/Features
Dean Takahashi of The San Jose Mercury News has two Xbox 360-focused pieces today: one about the interplay between various component manufacturers leading up to the creation of the Xbox 360, and one about a guy who had so many problems with his Xbox 360(s) that Microsoft's Peter Moore ended up calling him on the phone. GameSpot takes a look back on one of the Greatest Games of All Time, Gran Turismo (PS1).
South Park for the Nintendo 64. "I spent roughly six hours going from store to store trying to get a copy of this when it came out and it wasn't even close to being worth the effort. A couple years later it was stolen by an elderly woman at a yard sale and I really didn't care." (submitted by BrodieMan)
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by Chris Remo, Apr 17, 2006 8:00pm PDT
Boy is it good to see that hero of guitars make a return.
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More Guitar Heroics This Fall
[ps2] Publisher RedOctane announced today that developer Harmonix will be delivering a sequel to the award winning Guitar Hero (PS2) towards the end of this year. IGN has an interview with Red Octane's John Tam, discussing some of the upcoming game's new features. - Each song will have two distinct audio input channels. Rather than multiplayer consisting of trading off the lead channel, it might consist of lead and bass, or lead and rhythm, which are played simultaneously by the players.
- There will be a practice mode, allowing players to focus on particularly difficult sections of a solo or lead. - With the increased fame of the Guitar Hero franchise will come previously unobtainable licensed songs. - The guitar peripheral from the original game will work with the sequel. Guitar Hero II will be shown at E3 in some form, and will hit PlayStation 2 this November.
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Destroy More Humans
[ps2] [xbox] THQ announced today that a followup to Pandemic Studios' 2005 alien-centric shoot-em-up Destroy All Humans (PS2, Xbox) is currently in development. Players will reassume the role of protagonist Crypto 137 along with more weapons, abilities, and game features than before. "We are pulling out all the stops for the sequel," stated Pandemic president Josh Resnick, "adding multiplayer co-op, five new open-worlds to explore and the same irreverent humor that was a hallmark of the first Destroy All Humans! game." Destroy All Humans 2 will ship for PlayStation 2 and Xbox later this year. -
Download an Orrery, Ya Rly
[xbox360] Bethesda Softworks has released its newest piece of downloadable content for its acclaimed The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (X360, PC). Currently, the Orrery, which contains a new Mages Guild-related quest, is available only for owners of the Xbox 360 version of the game, though it is promised to be "coming soon" on the official Oblivion Downloads page. Following the general controversy over the price of horse armor (200 Marketplace points, or $2.50 on Xbox 360; $1.99 on PC), the price point has been reduced for the Orrery. It is available for 150 Marketplace points, or $1.88 on Xbox 360; the PC version will be sold for $1.89. This new pricing scheme should hold for the eventual third piece of content as well, the Wizard's Tower. -
Red vs. Blue vs. a Film Festival
[xbox] Rooster Teeth Productions, the team behind well loved internet machinima series Red vs. Blue and The Strangerhood, will be screening some of the its best sketches as the San Francisco International Film Festival. The festival runs from April 20 to May 4, with Rooster Teeth's offerings screening on April 23, April 25, and May 03. Members of the cast and crew will be on hand for question and answer sessions following the screenings. -
Video Game Movie News: Getting Up, Resident Evil
[ps2] [xbox] Marc Ecko's Getting Up, the graffiti-centric video game developed by The Collective under the direction of fashion designer, had its movie license acquired last year by MTV Films. Now, the film has been assigned two screenwriters, according to the Hollywood Reporter: Sean O'Keefe and Will Staples, whose only two writing projects have been collaborations on two upcoming films: The Northmen and King Tut. Ecko is co-producing the film along with MTV producers David Gale and Van Toffler. A director has yet to be selected. Variety also reports that Sienna Guillory will return to the play the part of Jill Valentine in the third Resident Evil film, Resident Evil: Extinction. The film will be written by Paul W.S. Anderson, who also wrote the first two entries in the series and directed the first. Taking director duties will be Russell Mulcahy, who directed the first two Highlander films. -
2K Issues MLB 2K6 360 Workaround
[xbox360] Following up on promises to address freezing issues with the Xbox 360 version of Kush Games' Major League Baseball 2K6, 2K Sports has issued two official workarounds for the problem: 1) simply remove or do not use the hard drive, or 2) load up three Xbox 360 games, each to at least the main title screen, before attempting to play MLB 2K6. 2K continues to work on a permanent downloadable patch to resolve the issue. -
Misc. Q&As/Features
GameSpot has a Q&A regarding Namco's Tekken: Dark Resurrection (PSP).
Wrath of the Black Manta for the NES. "it wanted to be a ninja gaiden clone but didnt come off quite as polished." (submitted by j0nchan)
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by Chris Remo, Apr 14, 2006 8:05pm PDT
Hope you saw that news today about Another World/Out of this World getting rereleased. I'm glad to see Eric Chahi getting back into game development. It really is amazing how frequently I hear from developers that his game was a huge influence on their work. One great thing about the game is that since it is so successfully told entirely without dialogue and depicted in such an accessible yet arresting visual style, it seems to cross cultural boundaries as well. Goichi Suda, the rather insane Japanese designer behind Killer 7 (PS2, GCN) recently stated that Eric Chahi is the game industry figure with whom he would most like to work, and Another World is the game most meaningful to him. I also wouldn't be surprised at all to hear that Fumito Ueda took some degree of inspiration from Another World when designing Ico (PS2). Having played Ico then going back to Another World was a crazy sensation; there are some really strong parallels in the way the games present their characters and story in an entirely suggestive way that truly suits the game medium. Even the control methods share something in common, with no onscreen interface, and the context-sensitive actions frequently mapped to directional buttons in a way that is instantly intuitive. That sort of thing really goes a long way towards creating a true sense of immersion in a game. It's a bit disappointing sometimes that there aren't more games taking that kind of completely ground-up approach, considering every aspect of interface and design in ways that organically mesh with the presentation and storytelling. Let's hope Chahi's next effort is just as memorable!
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Clover Reveals God Hand
[ps2] Capcom-funded dev house Clover Studio has announced the development of PlayStation 2 game entitled God Hand. The game is apparently a beat-em-up title with comical undercurrents, in which the protagonist forgoes the use of weapons such as guns or swords and fights entirely hand-to-hand with his transforming "god hand." A few early screenshots are shown on the game's recently launched official site. Japanese publication Famitsu reports that longtime Clover producer and director Shinji Mikami, formerly of Capcom, is directing the project. As the creator of Resident Evil, Mikami has directed several series entries, including the original and the recent Resident Evil 4 (PS2, GCN), and produced a great number of other titles. Heading up production duties will be Clover president and CEO Atsushi Inaba, producer on series such as Gyakuten Saiban (aka Phoenix Wright) and Viewtiful Joe. God Hand will be released later in 2006. Clover is also responsible for the upcoming title Okami (PS2), which ships in North America this September and will be amazing. -
GTA:LCS PS2 Delayed
[ps2] Rockstar's PS2 version of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, which debuted on PSP, has been delayed, according to Eurogamer. The game was previously expected some time this month, but it appears that it will not be shipping until some time after Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis (X360) is released on May 26. Surprisingly little has been heard about the game since its announcement several months ago, which may be explained by this postponement. -
Ooh, Gitaroo-Man
[psp] A new Gitaroo-Man title has been discovered for PSP, courtesy of a description on Sony Computer Entertainment's Japanese website. Developed by rhythm game veterans iNiS Corporation and entitled Gitaroo-Man Live, it is a followup to iNiS' original surreal rhythm game Gitaroo-Man (PS2). Live will feature two different multiplayer modes via local wireless, a versus mode and a duet mode. It will be released at the end of May in Japan. No North American release has yet been announced, and realistically the chances of the game making it to Western shores seem quite small for two reasons. Firstly, the original game undeservedly sold approximately three copies upon its 2002 release despite strong critical reception. Secondly, the studio's other recent rhythm title, the excellent Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! (DS) has still had no mention of a North American release despite equally strong critical acclaim. The company is also currently working on an advanced 3D platformer engine for Xbox 360, though any details about a specific game using the engine have not yet been revealed. -
More Live Content Live
[xbox360] Will I ever get tired of that "Live" pun? Unfortunately, probably not. The paid "Speed Pack" and free autoupdate for Bizarre Creations' Project Gotham 3 (X360) announced earlier this week has been made available via Xbox Live, a weekend before its previously scheduled April 17 release. For 400 Marketplace points ($5), players can access a dozen new cars; specific cars can be purcased for 60 Marketplace points ($.75) each. The free autoupdate contains tournament access, some interface improvements, and one new car. Xbox Live's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb has all the details. Electronic Arts has also released an Xbox 360 demo of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 over Xbox Live. It is available for free download. Finally, six new cars have also been made available via Xbox Live for the Xbox 360 version of Criterion's Burnout Revenge. They can now be unlocked for free in the Xbox Live Marketplace. -
MLB 2K6 360 Issues
[xbox360] Those of you who own the Xbox 360 version of Kush Games' Major League Baseball 2K6 and have been experiencing freezing problems in the game should head over to 2K Sports' official forums. A forum admin stated that 2K has acknowledged the problem and is working on a solution. The post includes an email address gamers can use to receive word of any official fixes. Forum members have also discovered what appears to be a temporary workaround for the problem, involving clearing the game's cache memory. -
Misc. Q&As/Features
GameSpot has a developer interview regarding Capcom's Power Stone Collection (PSP). Game Informer has coverage on Capcom's Pre-E3 Lineup.
Spiritual Warriors for the NES. "You were armed with the Breastplate of Righteousness and threw "fruits of faith" at pimps and drug dealers to convert them (watch out for the demons you expose!)" (submitted by wild falcon)
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by Chris Remo, Mar 21, 2006 9:20am PST
I'm about to head back to GDC, but before I go here's some morning console-related news from Microsoft. I'll have an LNC up tonight, but unfortunately it'll probably be pretty late. Oh, and there are a few rumblings about one or more games with actual live gameplay to be shown at Harrison's PS3 keynote tomorrow. That's just the word going around, definitely nothing substantial. We'll see soon enough!
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Xbox 360 Availability Surges
[xbox360] Microsoft today announced that beginning this week it will be shipping "two to three times" as many Xbox 360 units to stores as it has been recently. The increase in supply is attributed to manufacturing firm Celestica, Inc. joining existing partners Wistron Corp. and Flextronics Corp. In a recent interview, Microsoft's Steve Ballmer indicated that the system's widespread shortage was at least partially due to poor performance from an unnamed manufacturing partner. -
Xbox 360 Spring Lineup Announced
[xbox360] The full Xbox 360 spring lineup was revealed today in a Microsoft press release. Several of the games have already been released, or are being released today. For the sake of completeness, here is the full list. Looks like Rockstar's table tennis sim will be out sooner than expected. - 2006 FIFA World Cup (EA Canada, EA Sports) - Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (Digital Illusions CE, EA Games) - Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII (Ubisoft Romania, Ubisoft) - Burnout Revenge (Criterion Games, Electronic Arts) - Dynasty Warriors 5 Empires (Omega Force, KOEI) - The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks, 2K Games) - Far Cry Instincts Predator (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft) - Final Fantasy XI (Square Enix, Square Enix) - Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft Montpellier, Ubisoft) - Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend (Crystal Dynamics, Eidos) - Major League Baseball 2K6 (Kush Games, 2K Sports) - The Outfit (Relic, THQ) - Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis (Rockstar San Diego, Rockstar Games) - Rumble Roses XX (Yuke's, Konami) - Top Spin 2 (Indie Built, 2K Sports) - X-Men: The Official Game (Z-Axis, Activision) -
Xbox Live Platform Opened
[xbox360] Finally, Microsoft made the encouraging announcement that its popular Xbox Live online service will be opened to developers. This will give developers the ability to run their own Live servers and develop infrastructure more conducive to certain game types, such as MMOs. The next revision of the Xbox dev kit, which will ship in May, includes the update. -
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by Chris Remo, Mar 01, 2006 8:00pm PST
There comes a time in every LNC writer's career when he cannot continue with his existing means, when he simply does not have enough to carry on, and he must call out to his readership or, much like the failed paperboy, call it quits. The point is, I'm out of Console Games of the Evening. Submit some plzkthx.
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One More Kurrent-Gen Mortal Kombat
[ps2] [xbox] Midway has announced that its upcoming Mortal Kombat: Armageddon will be the last Mortal Kombat title to hit the current generation. It will include Create-A-Fighter and Create-A-Fatality modes and a new mode called Konquest. Earlier this week, Midway also announced a PSP entry in the Mortal Kombat series. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon will ship this fall for PS2 and Xbox. - Press release. For more, see Shacknews' preview. -
Midway on Board Revolution
[nintendo] Speaking to GameSpot, Midway CEO David Zucker stated, "We will have a Revolution title this year," going a bit further than other developers or publishers which have confirmed Revolution support but not whether they would have titles out in 2006. It is unlikely the publisher will divulge just what the title is until Nintendo's unveiling of the console at E3. GameSpot hazarded a guess that it might be Midway Chicago's Stranglehold (X360, PS3, PC), but Midway responded that while the game may come to Revolution later, it is not the project Zucker was referencing. -
UMK3 on XBLA
[xbox360] First things first: XBLA is a hilarious acronym. Exblah. Midway also announced at a press event today that several of the publisher's titles will be coming to Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360 some time this year: Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Cyberball, Defender, Root Beer Tapper, and, fittingly with tonight's intro, Paperboy. Previously, Midway released Robotron: 2084, SmashTV, Gauntlet, and Joust on Live Arcade. The company indicated that it hopes to do the same on Revolution and PS3 if Nintendo and Sony offer such services. -
Platinum Hits, Greatest Hits Hit Shelves
[ps2] [xbox] The release of the Xbox 360 has been one of the main reasons cited for the decline in game sales seen in recent months, as consumers shy away from current-gen products but face shortages with the only next-gen console yet released. The console hit hardest by that consumer hesitation is probably Microsoft's Xbox itself, since its next iteration is already out. To spur Xbox sales, Microsoft has released a new discount line, the Best of Platinum Hits, selling for an MSRP of $9.99. Eleven games inaugurate the Best of Platinum Hits, including five Tom Clancy's titles: Counter-Strike, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Fuzion Frenzy, MechAssault, Project Gotham Racing 2, Soul Calibur II, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, Clancy's Ghost Recon Island Thunder, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow. Sony also announced that two more titles would be joining its standard Greatist Hits line: God of War and Gran Turismo 4. Both have an MSRP of $19.99. -
Fear + Respect = Cancelled
[ps3] [xbox360] We haven't heard all too much about Edge of Reality's Fear & Respect (PS3, X360) ever since it was announced back in 2004. It turns out that's because the game is no longer in development. Speaking to GameSpot, publisher Midway's CEO David Zucker confirmed the game's cancellation. The game was being developed in association with Snoop Dogg and director John Singleton (Shaft, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Four Brothers), who are apparently still in talks with Midway to work on a separate game at some point in the future. -
Be on MySpace, Get in Scarface
[ps2] [ps3] [xbox] [xbox360] VU Games is holding a contest to choose an unsigned band whose music will appear in Radical Entertainment's upcoming game Scarface: The World is Yours (PS2, Xbox, PS3, X360, PC). The contest is being conducted through the website MySpace, and to be eligible a band need only have a MySpace account with music and information uploaded. To nominate a band, go to the contest website. The 200 artists with the most nominations as of March 7 will be judged by a panel of music and game industry professionals, and then internet users will vote for the best act from that panel's 20 selections. Finally, the winner and two runner ups will get the chance to open for a known group during a concert at this year's E3. A track by the winning artist will also be featured in the game. - Press release. -
Modern Combat Arriving a Bit Late
[xbox360] EA sent word today that the Xbox 360 version of DICE's Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (PS2, Xbox, X360) has had its release date changed from March 15 to April 11. An EA rep stated that the game "is complete and in the final phases of testing at this moment," and that the delay was "to place MF2MC in the best possible launch window" rather than because of development issues. A multiplayer demo will also be available via Xbox Live Marketplace later this month. -
Misc. Q&As/Features
GameSpot centralized all of its Midway press event coverage on one handy page. GameSpot has a Q&A about the Metal Gear Saga DVD obtained from preorder copies of Kojima Productions' Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (PS2). IGN Revolution put up a feature about Revolution games known to be in development. It is accurate as of yesterday (so it doesn't mention the Midway one). There's some stuff in there I didn't know about, such as an actual confirmation of a Revolution sequel to Atlus' Trauma Center: Under the Knife (DS). It is also missing a couple, such as Kojima's title in development. IGN has a developer interview on Metroid Prime Hunters (DS).
Shadows of the Empire for the Nintendo 64. "Varied Missions, FPS to vehicles...A ton of replayability for one of the first non film star wars based game. Don't forget the caged Wookies!" (submitted by calamax)
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by Chris Remo, Jan 22, 2006 3:00pm PST
Good evening, Shack. I'm all alone on the front page today!
EDIT: Or at least I was when I wrote that!
Additional Database Entries Featured ShackReviews:
Out of the blue, I busted out Treasure's Ikaruga (GCN, DC) this week. Yeah, it's still ridiculously difficult.
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by Chris Remo, Nov 14, 2005 8:00pm PST
I've received a few requests for this, so I got Maarten to add Nintendo DS and Sony PSP on the Console Game of the Evening submission form. If you wanted to add a game for one of those systems but weren't able to, feel free. Don't overdo it, though. They're pretty new systems and there's still plenty of console gaming history on which to reflect fondly...
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Microsoft Releases Xbox 360 Launch List
[xbox360] With just over a week left to go until the North American launch of Microsoft's Xbox 360, the manufacturer has finally released a confirmed list of games that will be available in stores on or before November 22. The list sports 18 titles, six of which will not be available on another current-gen system or PC as of the 360's launch date. It features six sports games (eight if you count extreme sports) and three each of racers and first person shooters. Fighting game and RPG fans will have to wait a bit, as the offerings for those genres--Team NINJA's Dead or Alive 4 and Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion--did not make the launch list as previously expected. EA proves the biggest contributor to the 360's initial offerings, publishing five of the titles; next up is Activision with four, then Take-Two and Microsoft Game Studios with three each. The full list is as follows: - Amped 3 (Indie Built) - Call of Duty 2 (Infinity Ward) - Condemned: Criminal Origins (Monolith) - FIFA 06: Road to the World Cup (EA Canada) - Gun (Neversoft) - Kameo: Elements of Power (Rare) - Madden NFL 06 (EA Tiburon) - NBA 2K6 (Visual Concepts) - NBA Live 06 (EA Canada) - Need for Speed Most Wanted (EA Canada) - NHL 2K6 (2K Sports) - Perfect Dark Zero (Rare) - Peter Jackson's King Kong (Ubisoft) - Project Gotham Racing 3 (Bizarre Creations) - Quake 4 (id Software) - Ridge Racer 6 (Namco) - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 (EA Sports) - Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (Neversoft) Previously expected pricing details were confirmed: $49.99 for first-party offerings (Kameo, Perfect Dark Zero, Project Gotham Racing 3), and $59.99 for third-party titles (everything else). Microsoft issued a list of 13 accessories to be on sale at launch as well. -
Ubisoft Developing Revolution Shooter?
[nintendo] Various news outlets, such as Next Generation, are reporting on a Spanish-language announcement at gaming site Meristation that Ubisoft's Montreal studio is currently developing a first person shooter for Nintendo's upcoming Revolution console. Ubisoft has already pledged its support for the next-gen system, but this particular report is still unconfirmed. Inquiries from Shacknews to Ubisoft on the matter were so far unanswered as of this writing. An amusing automated translation of the news is available here. For the record, "their Canadian studios already are hands to the work." -
Last-Minute 360 Preorders
[xbox360] Gamers who plan to wait in line for an Xbox 360 might want to check out this Circuit City preorder offer. Starting this Friday, online preorders can be placed for any of four different bundles ranging from $489.95 (a Core System with a memory card, extra controller, and two games) to $739.92 (a Premium System with a memory card, extra controller, and four games). The orders will be shipped out on Monday by way of overnight delivery. -
Game Sales Down Again
[ps2] [xbox] [gamecube] The NPD has released its October sales data for video games, showing a 24% drop from last year, coming off of a September loss of the same percentage from last year. The top seller in this latest report was Zipper's SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs (PS2), followed by EA's NBA Live 06. The portable market continued to help drive sales, with Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (PSP) clocking in at #3. Interestingly, the report notes that Liberty City Stories sales did not actually seem to promote sales of the PSP hardware itself, whose sales declined from the previous month. The overall hardware order puts PS2 in the lead as usual, followed by Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Xbox, and GameCube respectively. Specific PSP numbers were not cited. Authors of the report suggest that despite the slump, sales should pick up considerably due to the holiday season as well as the launch of new hardware with the Xbox 360, edging this year's total sales over last year's. -
Listen Up, GameORZ!!!!
[ps2] [xbox] [gamecube] MTV has announced an upcoming week-long televised feature on gaming, for some reason entitled "GameORZ Week." It will be comprised of a variety of game-related segments with such titles as "Gaming Cost Me My Girlfriend," "True Life: I'm A Professional Gamer," "Racism & Online Gaming," and "15 Minutes With... Fatal1ty." The series will run Sunday, November 20 through the following Saturday, and will be spread across MTV's various channels, most of which I wasn't aware existed. They include MTV, MTV2, mtvU, mtvU Uber (!?), MTV.com, and MTV Overdrive. The press release refers to it as an "unprecedented multiplatform assault," so take from that what you will. Also, in case you for some reason forgot, it is called "GameORZ Week." GameORZ. -
Rucka to Pen PD Paperback
[xbox360] Tor Books has announced that it will be publishing a three-part series of books based on Rare's Perfect Dark property, first seen in the studio's Perfect Dark (N64) and soon Perfect Dark Zero (X360). The first novel, Perfect Dark: Initial Vector, will be written by highly sought comic book writer Greg Rucka. For a chance to win an autographed copy, register at the book's official site. -
Misc. Q&As/Features
Nintendo coverage site N-Sider has announced that it will be hosting an official Nintendo-sponsored Mario Kart DS tournament. Head over to the site and sign up with your Mario Kart DS friend code to win the chance to be one of 32 participants. Winners will receive prizes such as a Game Boy Micro, a copy of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (GCN), Mario Kart DS styluses, and more.
Jedi Power Battles for the Dreamcast. "This was a severely underappreciated game. A star wars beat-em-up with co-op! What more could you want? Pick this up if you liked Lego Star Wars." (submitted by Prozium)
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by Chris Remo, Nov 09, 2005 8:00pm PST
Wow, there's quite a bit of Xbox 360 news today. The Halo stuff in particular is pretty cool.
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Halo 1.5 and 2.5, Sort Of
[xbox360] Bungie's web guy Frank O'Connor recently suggested that Halo (Xbox, PC) and Halo 2 (Xbox) might receive some graphical tweaks when played on Microsoft's upcoming Xbox 360. Today, on the one-year anniversary of Halo 2's release, he filled us in on the details, as part of his Halo 2 Anniversary Special filled with retrospectives and interviews. The big announcement is that on the 360, both Halo and Halo 2 will be displayed in widescreen 720p resolution, with full scene anti-aliasing. That's some nice news, and I guess if Perfect Dark Zero (X360) doesn't take off as the new Xbox deathmatch of choice, gamers will have a fresh incentive to jump back on Halo 2. O'Connor is quick to note that no further modes or content have been added to either game, and no textures or geometry have been redone. The update is purely for overall resolution and FSAA. He's got comparison shots up, and also claims that the effect is better when viewed on an actual HDTV. -
Nintendo's Merrick on Revolution and Rein
[nintendo] Nintendo Europe's senior VP of marketing Jim Merrick sat down for a chat with Eurogamer regarding the Revolution. Merrick notes that several third-party publishers have already signed on to making their game libraries available for download to the Virtual Console. He didn't name names, saying "I think you can guess, though. The usual suspects." Capcom and Konami, for example, seem like obvious answers, and given Square Enix's level of Nintendo support recently, that would seem like a good bet as well. Merrick did not reveal a pricing scheme for the games, but did say "a couple of pounds" in an offhand example. Nintendo has also stated in the past that games will be given away as incentives or bonuses with other products. Expanding on the subject of downloadable content, Merrick mentioned that "movies, music, demos, or full games" might also be available over Nintendo's online network. He clarified that these would all be game-related, however--for example, soundtrack samples or trailers. Nintendo still has no plans to compete as anything other than a gaming company. As other execs have stated, Merrick indicated that Revolution games will be at E3. As far as what games and from what developers, he wouldn't say, though when pressed, he did mention Hideo Kojima is working on a title. This comes as little surprise since Kojima himself has already made such an announcement. In terms of the launch, Merrick noted that the company is shooting for as tight a worldwide release as possible. Nintendo plans to do better than the DS' 14-week launch window. He said it doesn't make commercial sense to shoot for a same-day release, but "within a few weeks" is more plausible. Surprisingly, he also mentions that "there are no rules that it must be Japan or US first." Finally, Eurogamer asked what Merrick thought of the widely-publicized comments by Mark Rein suggesting that the graphics are the most important element of games and that the Revolution will be home to plethora of "gimmicky," "cheap," and "crappy" games. Merrick responded, "Mark has a very narrow section of the business. Epic builds middleware, they're very technically savvy guys, but he doesn't have a Revolution controller, he doesn't have a dev kit, he's talking about something he knows nothing about. So if he'd like to get a dev kit and really dig into it, then I'd be interested to hear what he has to say." -
PS2 Suit is Settled
[ps2] A class-action lawsuit filed by owners of allegedly faulty PlayStation 2 units against Sony has been settled, with Sony offering various compensation to affected customers. Owners of PS2s with specific model numbers who have experienced "Disc Read Error" mesages may be eligible to receive either a check for US$25/$31 Canadian, a PS2 game, or a repair or replacement of the defective unit. Available options are determined by several factors. If you've had such a problem with your PS2, visit the website and check if you fall within the affected class. -
Microsoft to Hold Xbox 360 Event in Desert
[xbox360] Microsoft will be hosting a launch event called Xbox 360: Zero Hour, for some reason located at an unspecified location in the Mojave Desert. The event will begin on November 20 and last all the way up until the console's November 22 launch. In case you're wondering what an artist suspects the event will look like, Microsoft has helpfully posted an artist's rendition on its official event site. In order to attend this crazy function, gamers will be able to enter a random drawing being held by several popular gaming websites as well as Microsoft's own Xbox.com. Registration will begin on certain sites at midnight tonight, and will continue opening on the remainder of the sites for the following 24 hours. In total, the event will house about 3,000 gamers. The actual location of the event will be announced on November 12. -
Kameo: Podcasts of Power
[xbox360] Microsoft just can't get enough of untraditional advertising methods for its systems and games, and in that vein it has released the first of a series of eight voice-acted podcasts set in the world of Rare's Kameo: Elements of Power (X360). The series will tell the history of Kameo's world and the events leading up to the game. According to the official website, "In this chapter we learn of the Wotnot Book, the Elemental Warriors and the Element of Power. We also learn that the Gods’ plan for peace across the land was not nearly as simple as it seemed." The site also contains a short feature about the podcasts' production. A new podcast should be released every week, which will put the conclusion of the series well after the release of the Xbox 360. The game itself has already shipped to many retailers. -
Xbox 360 to "Discourage Hackers"
[xbox360] The guys over at Joystiq pointed out that Microsoft has interviewed the Xbox 360's lead mechanical engineer Jeff Reents. Reents speaks on the challenges envolved with constructing the Xbox 360's hardware, which is of course more powerful and uses more power than the Xbox's but must fit into a smaller form factor. Those of you who are excited by things like thermal algorithm firmware and radio emissions supression should check it out. Reents also mentions one way Microsoft hopes to "discourage hackers" from tampering with the console. He notes that the team ensured that there are no screws on the outside of the box, and there are also "multiple tamper evident labels" so if a case has been opened it will be easily apparent. The interviewer conveniently points out that "just like the original Xbox, cracking the case immediately voids your warranty." -
Misc. Q&As/Features
Edge Online has a Q&A with Oddworld Inhabitants' Lorne Lanning, whose company recently announced it has slimmed down its staff and converted to mainly a design studio which will focus not just on games but on film and TV as well. Lanning touches on games--he loved Double Fine's Psychonauts (PS2, Xbox, PC) and is looking forward to playing SCEJ's Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)--and, like so many of his peers, is excited about digital distribution. He also laments "the overall lack of vision and balls on behalf of the people who have the power to make a difference." GameSpot has a second designer diary for Bizarre Creations' Project Gotham Racing 3 (X360). IGN has a video interview with Mario Kart DS producer Hideko Konno.
Kangaroo for the Atari 2600. "At age 5, Kangaroo + Boxing Gloves + Monkeys= Awesome." (submitted by Zakazi)
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by Chris Remo, Nov 07, 2005 8:20pm PST
Speaking of the Xbox 360, if you're interested in Rare's Kameo: Elements of Power, have an interview! I made it myself. Well, ok, I did have the help of lead designer George Andreas.
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Fable 360?
[xbox360] Computer And Video Games claimed today that a sequel to Big Blue Box and Lionhead's Fable (Xbox) is in development for Xbox 360. Apparently, somebody conducted an interview with designer Peter Molyneux in which he talked about an upcoming 360 sequel, and then that person passed the news on to CVG. According to CVG's source, the game seems fairly similar to its predecessor in concept--you start out as a young boy, and as you grow your appearance is affected by the moral route you choose. This time around, however, you'll have a pet dog which is similarly affected in appearance and, somehow, breed. Somewhat oddly, it seems that the brothels featured in the expanded version of the first game, Fable: The Lost Chapters (Xbox, PC), will have a prominent place in the sequel. CVG expects the game, if it is in fact real, to ship during the 2006 holiday season. Lionhead refused to comment. -
Game Movie Scripts-A-Plenty
[ps2] [xbox] [gamecube] Movie news site Latino Review has been getting some attention for posting up detailed reviews of the scripts for two highly-anticipated game-based films: Splinter Cell, which went up last week, and Halo, which went up today and has understandably been generating quite a bit of attention on the internet. The reviewer describes the Halo film script, written by Alex Garland of 28 Days and The Beach fame, as "the Saving Private Ryan of video game movies," a relentless and brutal science fiction war film. He outlines the first act of what is allegedly the movie's 128-page script in great detail, and also relates some other particularly noteworthy scenes. It's tough to say whether it's genuine. The review is certainly very long and detailed, but then again people frequently go to elaborate lengths to perpetuate hoaxes on the internet. For what it's worth, GameSpot's Rumor Control column is guardedly giving Latino Review the benefit of the doubt, citing its accuracy on an early Batman Begins script review as positive credit. The Halo film recently received a great deal coverage due to Peter Jackson taking on an executive producer role for the project. No director has yet been announced. Halo is set for release some time in 2007. -
360 and iPod Compatible--For Now
[xbox360] One of the Xbox 360's functions Microsoft has been eager to point out, given the upcoming console's stated goal as some kind of entertainment lifestyle device, is that it can draw music from a variety of USB-compatible portable music players--including Apple's wildly successful iPod. It seems, however, that Apple may not be as eager about the whole thing. Microsoft apparently contacted Apple asking to work out a deal for compatibility between the two devices, and when Apple refused Microsoft went ahead and implemented the functionality anyway. Microsoft refused to comment on whether any backwards engineering was necessary, but a programmer of a piece of 3rd-party iPod software said that Microsoft must have done some reverse engineering to get the 360 to interpret the iPod's method of storing music. The 360 is still unable to play music purchased through Apple's iTunes music store. The end result of this is that many expect Apple to take some kind of action against Microsoft as soon as the Xbox 360 is made publically available on November 22. For the record, Apple did take action against RealNetworks when the company released software allowing music purchased from Real's Harmony music service to be played on iPods. Apple accused Real of having "tactics and ethics of a hacker." -
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Goes Live
[ds] Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, Nintendo's online gaming service for DS and eventually Revolution, has officially gone live today. The website is now pretty much all there, with this encouraging statement in the corner: "Global Wi-Fi Gaming Service Fully Operational." The site has details of how to get connected to the service, as well as an automated service to locate free hotspots near a given location. Each of the two online launch games, Mario Kart DS and Tony Hawk's American Sk8land (DS), also has its own Gaming Hub page. The Gaming Hubs contain stats and scores of top players for each game--which are currently limited to game testers and journalists, assumedly. The site also features details about the various online features that will be available for each game; for example, every week there will be a featured Mario Kart race with a Nintendo staff member that will be recorded and hosted on the site. The first two online DS games will ship next week, at which time gamers will be able to register with the website and start using its features fully. -
Spy Hunter: The Game: The Movie: The Game
[ps2] [xbox] Midway sent out a press release today announcing the development of Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run, a new iteration of the classic Spy Hunter franchise which is also being made into a film starring The Rock (The Rundown, wrestling), written by Stuart Beattie (Collateral, Splinter Cell), and possibly directed by John Woo (Hard Boiled, The Killer). Nowhere to Run will feature the voice acting of The Rock. The game will of course also feature The Interceptor, the combat automobile featured in all of the previous games, but somewhat worryingly will also bring on-foot action to the series for the first time. For the first time in the Spy Hunter franchise we are allowing the player to step out from behind the wheel of the Interceptor and straight into the action," said Midway chief marketing officer Steve Allison. -
Misc. Q&As/Features
Game Informer has an interview with Mario Kart DS producer Hideko Konno. GameSpot has coverage of the recent Nintendo press event featuring the company's upcoming lineup.
Aero the Acrobat for the Super Nintendo. "Awesome music, cool acrobatics and kicking clown ass. Aero was a cool, underrated dude!" (submitted by megarust32)
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by Chris Remo, Nov 06, 2005 5:00pm PST
Releases are still slowing down a bit. Looks like we're hitting the calm before the holiday storm. Next week the first online DS games come out, then the week after that Xbox 360 launches. Crazy stuff!
Featured ShackReviews:
I'm still working through Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (DS), and I've started a Horde character on Mal'Ganis in World of Warcraft (PC) so I can hang out with Shackers!
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by Chris Remo, Oct 28, 2005 8:00pm PDT
Comin' to you from the BlizzCon press room, it's Late Night Consoling: Quick Edition. Note: The Xbox 360 story regarding single-threaded games has been updated.
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Microsoft Discusses 360 Release
[xbox] Microsoft announced its earning today for the latest financial quarter, with its Home and Entertainment Division (which contains the company's Xbox operations) posting a loss of $141M, up from a $131M loss last year. The increased loss can be attributed to slowing Xbox sales, which dropped $132M in revenue from last year in part due to the upcoming Xbox 360 devaluing the current-gen Xbox. Microsoft expects losses to continue to increase into the next quarter as the company spends more on the Xbox 360 launch and associated marketing and events. Notably, Microsoft indicated that analysts have actually been "expecting more of a launch spike than we were" in regards to initial Xbox 360 shipments, which is somewhat surprising because analysts have already been forecasting lower-than-planned ship numbers. The statement does not bode well for gamers who want a 360 but haven't already pre-ordered one (nor does it bode well for gamers who pre-ordered their consoles late in the game).
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X360 Launch Titles Single-Threaded
[xbox] Everybody's favorite industry muckraker The Inquirer has posted a claim that all of the Xbox 360 launch titles are single-threaded, using only one of the six available threads present in the machine's three double-threaded processing cores. This wouldn't be all that surprising, given that multithreaded programming is something that is entirely new to the game development world and many developers have outright stated that it will take some time to wrap their heads around the concept and develop a strong competency with it. That said, The Inquirer has not always been known for its rock-solid research, and this news should still be treated as rumor. As such, GameSpot has featured the story in its latest edition of Rumor Control, and it looks like Microsoft has not confirmed or denied the allegation. UPDATE: I have received confirmation from a designer at Infinity Ward, assuring me that the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty 2 (X360, PC) is in fact running on at least two threads. While he could not elaborate into specific technical details, he is definitely aware that the game's AI is being run on a separate thread than the rest of the code. A developer at Pseudo has also written, confirming that Full Auto (X360) in fact uses all six threads across all three cores. So there you go! -
THQ Touches On Next Generation
[ps2] [xbox] [nintendo] THQ released its latest financial reports today, with a loss for the second quarter of $1.4M. The number is a great improvement over last year's second quarter loss of $6.4M, and was lower than analysts expected. The company also made a few announcements regarding the next console generation. For one thing, Volition's GTA-esque Saint's Row (X360), once speculated for the Xbox 360's launch window, has been delayed. The title will not ship until the first quarter of THQ's 2007 fiscal year, which begins next April. THQ also has 13 games in the works for the three next-gen consoles, and claims that four will be released in its current fiscal year--which, of course, means before next April. Considering the publisher stated that it expects both PS3 and Revolution to ship in the second half of 2006, one would assume that all four of those titles are set for Xbox 360. In regards to all three consoles, THQ is currently planning on devoting approximately 40% of its development budget to Xbox 360, 40% to PS3, and 20% to Revolution. The company is currently increasing its Revolution development, and explained that its lower Revolution budget is due to the console still being largely unrevealed. In regards to Nintendo as a company, THQ president Brian Farrell told IGNCube last month that "Nintendo is waking up," and that "We're seeing more from Nintendo now [for Revolution] than we have on any other Nintendo platform," though at the time he declined to elaborate due to nondisclosure agreements.
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Tool for GTA:LCS Soundtracks
[psp] Owners of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (PSP) who wish to take advantage of the game's custom soundtrack support will need to download a special tool to convert music files into a format accepted by the game. The utility is conveniently mirrored on FileShack right here. In the readme, Rockstar notes, "RCT is designed not to work with personally created CDs or CDs containing music encoded via MP3, WMA or other compression techniques. By using RCT, you acknowledge and agree that all conversions created through RCT are solely for your private use to enhance your enjoyment of the gameplay of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and may not be reproduced or distributed to others." -
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Misc. Q&As/Features
GameSpot chats with Silicon Knights president Denis Dyack regarding the studio's long in the works title Too Human (X360).
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by Chris Remo, Oct 16, 2005 4:00pm PDT
Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) is out this week! Woohoo!
Other Database Updates:
Featured ShackReviews:
Back to Advance Wars: Dual Strike (DS) for me. It seems like it's getting ready to finish up. Also, still working on Indigo Prophecy (Xbox). I have to get these games done so I have time for all the other crazy stuff coming out!
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by Chris Remo, Oct 04, 2005 9:00pm PDT
So X05 is in full force, and we've got a bunch of nice high resolution Xbox 360 shots for you down in the previews section. There are shots from Bioware's new game Mass Effect, Silicon Knights' Too Human, Realtime Worlds' Crackdown, Rare's Kameo and Perfect Dark Zero, Epic's Gears of War, and more. Some of these games were just announced or confirmed today, so if you haven't heard of them, LNC will enlighten you.
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Game Announcements at X05
[xbox] A few new titles were announced at X05. Splinter Cell 4 and Castle Wolfenstein are not Xbox 360 exclusive, so you can check out Maarten's posts on the front page for those. Veteran RPG developer Bioware revealed a new Xbox 360-exclusive RPG entitled Mass Effect. Set in the 23rd century, "the real conflict between organic beings and artificial intelligence comes to life in startling clarity." The game is reportedly the first in a trilogy. It will be more action-oriented than some of the company's past efforts, with the player controlling a squad in the name of peace and freedom. Bioware has an official page up for the game, containing some information and a short trailer. Too Human, from Silicon Knights of Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (GCN) fame, was also confirmed as an Xbox 360 exclusive. The game is certainly not being newly announced. In fact, it has now been in development for all three current major console manufacturers, over the course of three generations. It was originally slated for PlayStation (1), then GameCube, and finally now Microsoft's next-gen system. It too is the first game in--you guessed it--a trilogy (those things are all the rage these days), and is making use of the Unreal 3 engine. Players are cast as cybernetic god Baldur, who must protect mankind from a self-aware force of machines bend on humanity's destruction. The game will feature a "vast number of enemies." The long in development game is set for release in the holiday season of 2006. Electronic Arts confirmed long-standing rumors that its Tiburon studio--responsible for the Madden series--is developing the video game adaptation of the upcoming Superman Returns film, being directed by Bryan Singer. Few details were given about the game, other than that players will "experience a real sense of flying, and master Superman's unrivaled super hero powers in order to save Metropolis." Well, that's good. As tends to be the case with games based on movies based on comic books, the game will draw not only from the film but from the rest of the Superman universe. It is set for release alongside the movie in June of next year.Atari revealed that a new Alone in the Dark game, already announced for PlayStation 3, is also coming to the Xbox 360. Nothing new details were given regardin the game. It is in development by Eden Studios, primarily known for racing games such as V-Rally 3 (PS2, Xbox, PC) and the upcoming Test Drive Unlimited (X360). -
Peter Jackson's Halo
[xbox] Well, not quite. Peter Jackson, director of such films as Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles, The Frighteners, and The Making of The Frighteners, has been taken onboard the upcoming Halo film adaptation as an executive producer along with longtime partner Fran Walsh, known for her portrayal of "Mother at Park" in Peter Jackson's Dead Alive (Braindead). Fanboys of Halo and/or Jackson whose heads are exploding and whose hearts are attacking should probably bear in mind that the Executive Producer tends to occupy more of a figurehead role on a project, rather than a constantly involved creative force. An actual director has yet to be confirmed. Alex Garland, writer of 28 Days Later, has written the script for the film. The Producer producers on Halo are Mary Parent, Scott Stuber, and Peter Schlessel. Probably more relevant to the actual end result of the film is the news that Jackson's Weta Digital and Weta Workshop studios will be handling the special effects and physical paraphanelia, which bodes well for Halo's visual aspects. As a result, the movie will be filmed in Wellington, New Zealand. Halo is set for release in Summer of 2007. -
Xbox 360 Launch Lineup Still Unclear
[xbox] Despite widespread speculation that Microsoft would be releasing a concrete list of launch titles for its upcoming November 22 launch of Xbox 360, the company has remained reluctant to do so. Amid a flurry of confusing and contradictory press release announcements, GameSpot contacted Microsoft to get a straight answer, and were given a list of eight titles out of "15 to 20 Xbox 360 titles available on launch day." The confirmed eight are fairly unsurprising: Rare's Kameo and Perfect Dark Zero, Bizarre's Project Gotham Racing 3, EA Tiburon's Madden NFL 06, EA Canada's Need for Speed Most Wanted and NBA Live 06 and FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup, and EA Sports' Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06. Three of the confirmed titles are being published by Microsoft Game Studios and the remaining five by Electronic Arts. Microsoft indicated that the full lineup would be revealed "in the next few weeks." -
Midway Picks up Pitbull
[ps2] [xbox] The industry has been absolutely jam-packed with acquisitions lately, and Midway is one of the publisher that's been doing a lot of acquiring. The latest in this run of buys is UK studio Pitbull Syndicate, the developer responsible for several Test Drive titles as well as the upcoming L.A. Rush (PS2, Xbox, PC). L.A. Rush is the latest in Midway's arcade-born Rush franchise. As is often the case, the developer will be renamed for its owner and location; it will be christened Midway Studios Newcastle. The transaction occurred mainly through the exchange of stock, with Midway trading 199,385 shares. Midway's current stock is valued at $15.63/share, valuing the acquisition at $3.1M. -
Misc. Q&As/Features
EGM writer James Lee takes a few lessons from paid video game coaches to improve his Halo 2 game. Gamasutra has the latest edition of its weekly column, The Esoteric Beat, this week focusing on audio-based games, a hamster ball-like VR device, and human-digital relationships. Esoteric indeed.
Rayman for the Atari Jaguar. "One of the few Jag games that were actually good. Also Ubisoft's first big hit on North American shores." (submitted by r_picmip 5)
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by Chris Remo, Sep 28, 2005 8:20pm PDT
It eased up a bit in the rumor department today. The new theme is game announcements and updates!
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Sony Explains PS3's TGS Absense, Comments on Pricing
[ps2] Sony Computer Entertainment executive Masatsuka Saeki has explained in a Famitsu interview why PS3 was not playable at TGS despite SCE head Ken Kutaragi's promise that it would be. Apparently, since TGS represented the first public display of PS3 in Japan, Sony wanted it to have the greatest impact possible, opting to use video footage instead of playable games. The crowd-pleasing Metal Gear Solid 4 video was actually a late addition it seems. Initially, the lineup was going to be comprised of mostly European titles (which seems slightly odd considering Sony's claim to attempt to create a big impression in Japan). As far as when the PS3 will be on display in playable form, it's unclear. It seems that Sony was planning a February event to show off the machine, but that has been cancelled in favor of something else. In the same interview, Saeki also briefly touched on pricing issues for its upcoming console, saying only that the price point will be under constant discussion until the absolute deadline. Sounds like we shouldn't expect that information for quite some time, then. GameSpot points out that Sony has to worry not only about consumer price, but also about cost of game production to developers. Out of the three upcoming next-gen consoles, the PS3 has generated the most concern among industry professionals regarding ballooning development costs. Apparently, Koei CEO Keiko Erikawa recently mentioned that despite Koei having games in the works for PS3, she would consider changing her studio's primary development platform if Sony's machine proves too cost-intensive. -
Kojima Begins Blog, Ponders Profusely
[ps2] Hideo Kojima, acclaimed director of the Metal Gear series, has recently started blogging, and blogging quite a lot at that. His outlet has an unremarkable name--the Hideoblog--but, if 1UP's summarized translation is to be trusted, fascinating contents. Kojima's musings take the form of a stream of consciousness, which, while not particularly out of the ordinary for blog material, is filled with all sorts of metaphor between the designer's life and thinking and the evolution of the Metal Gear Solid games. He touches on his reasoning for continuing on with Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3) despite prior claims that MGS3 (PS2) would be his last directorial role in the series, and he relates the aging Snake of the upcoming game to his perspectives as a middle aged game designer who still has the desire to create. Go ahead and check out 1UP's summary. It makes me wish I could read Japanese, and I've never even played a Metal Gear Solid game! Yeah, yeah, I know... -
Killer 7 Director Producing DS Game
[ds] Remember that rumor the other day, centering around the possibility of an Earthbound sequel from developers Marvelous and/or Brownie Brown, and/or series creator Shigesato Itoi. Well, the secret project from Marvelous has been revealed, and it's something else. The studio will be collaborating with developer Grasshopper (home of Killer 7 director Gouichi Suda) on a new game entitled Contact (DS). Grasshopper will handle primary development. The game features a lighthearted colorful aesthetic similar to that of Earthbound--on the top screen, anyway. The bottom screen features a soft, lush 3D style. It's a sharp contrast to the likes of Killer 7. The story itself has a professor crash-landing on an Earth-like planet and using the player as an intermediary to help recover his ship's power source while a terrorist attempts to secure the source himself. The professor will interact with the player through the top screen, and the player will control the main character on the bottom screen. As far as the possible Earthbound/Mother sequel, the situation with Brownie Brown and Itoi is unchanged. There has been nothing suggesting it is either more or less likely that they are creating a sequel since the update two days ago. -
Square Enix Looking to Branch Out
[ps2] [xbox] [gamecube] Publishing and development giant Square Enix has been busy lately. The company recently completed its acquisition of Taito, and now it looks like it's ready to expand out from consoles. "Game machine makers no longer have control [over the market]," said Square Enix president Yoichi Wada in an interview with Yomiuri Online. "The market is shifting from console makers towards the software makers, which provide appealing games and content. In the future, only companies that can adapt to the online market can survive." In light of this, the company will be expanding its reach to more fully cover the mobile phone market and the online gaming market. Despite the recent problems plaguing the Japanese games industry, Wada claims that it is only the console gaming market that is shrinking in Japan, which excludes areas such as mobile games and online computer games. It is interesting to see the various steps being taken by Japanese game developers and publishers in light of the negative growth being experienced in the country's console gaming market. Square Enix is dealing with the trend by expanding out to cover other areas, while Nintendo has claimed that much of the reasoning for its experimentation and innovation with DS and Revolution has been to expand the console gaming market itself. Either way, the fact that such major forces in the games industry are taking such action certainly lends credence to those who say a problem exists in that country's gaming scene.. -
Next-Gen Castlevania in the Works
[ps2] [xbox] [gamecube] When averaged out, the Castlevania series has seen a new game every year for the past two decades, and it looks like the venerable Konami franchise shows no sign of stopping any time soon. Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (PS2, Xbox) ships in November and Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS) ships next week, and now producer Koji Igarashi has revealed that a new installment is already in the works. In a recent interview with Japanese magazine Nintendo Dream, Igarashi stated that Konami is already developing a Castlevania title for unspecified next-gen platforms. He also noted that portable Castlevania releases will continue to take place after Dracula's death, while console releases will take place before it. Finally, Igarashi hinted at some kind of special event next year in celebration of the series' twentieth anniversary. -
Misc. Q&As/Features
Gamasutra has a feature containing the answers to its most recent Question of the Week, this time centering on Nintendo's Revolution controller. As usual, most of the respondants are game industry professionals. With the exception of a single comment, the answers are overwhelmingly positive. Speaking of Nintendo, designer Shigeru Miyamoto revealed in an MTV interview that "he has a soft spot for Mario, partially because in 20 years no one on his Mario development team has ever quit." Impressive. ...aaaand, speaking of Miyamoto, Eurogamer reports on a blogged photograph of the designer politely declining to sign somebody's PSP (the person eventually had him sign his DS instead). 1UP continues its Team NINJA coverage, today featuring an Itagaki interview touching on Revolution, Xbox 360, PS3, and brusqueness. GameSpot has its own Itagaki Q&A, this one focusing on Dead or Alive 4 (X360).
Karnov for the NES. "The only game to ever feature an obese, fire breathing Russian as the main character. Data East's Karnov had one of the least rewarding ending sequences. After all of your play time, you were simply rewarded with "CONGRATULATIONS." That's rough." (submitted by killrig)
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by Chris Remo, Sep 22, 2005 8:00pm PDT
I'm trying out Ninja Gaiden Black (Xbox) because when I rented the first game I could just tell it was going to be too hard, and this one apparently includes an easy mode if you die enough. I only had time to play a little bit today, but so far I'm finding it pretty hilarious. It's a nice touch having forty thousand ninjas fly into the screen at all times, it put a smile on my face.
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Sony Restructures, Cuts Workforce
[ps2] [psp] After losses of $90M when profits of $90M were expected, Sony now has plans for a drastic restructure of the company. The move is being primarily instigated by recently-hired CEO Howard Stringer as well as president Ryoji Chubachi and CFO Nobuyuki Oneda. Stringer claimed that "We have made promises before, but we failed to execute them. We must fight like the Sony warriors that we are." Over the course of the plan, which will be complete by 2008, Sony will cut 7% of its worldwide workforce of 151,000. 4,000 employees in Japan and 6,000 employees elsewhere will be affected by the cuts. Additionally, 11 of the company's 65 manufacturing plants will be closed and 20% of its products will be discontinued. This is in addition to the 20,000 jobs Sony has cut over the past few years as part of a separate plan mainly affecting the company's unprofitable electronics division. -
Rockstar Announces Documentary, GTA Packs
[ps2] [xbox] [psp] Rockstar announced its creation of a documentary following the low rider car scene, describing the film as "a portrait of a community working together to build the ultimate customised vehicles, while struggling to legitimise their lifestyle under close scrutiny of the authorities." The announcement indicates that the film, entitled Sunday Driver, will be released on the UMD format, used with Sony's PSP console. However, its inclusion on a DVD in an upcoming GTA bundle indicates it may eventually make a standalone jump to the bigger small screen. What GTA bundle? Well... Rockstar also apparently plans to announce tomorrow the release of two Grand Theft Auto bundles, one for PS2 and one for Xbox. The PS2 unit consists of GTA: San Andreas in modified Mature form as well as a bonus DVD containing the game's machinima prequel movie and the aforementioned Sunday Driver documentary. The Xbox release, called The Trilogy, appropriately contains the three current-style GTA games: GTAIII, GTA: Vice City, and GTA: San Andreas. It also contains the re-Matured version of San Andreas, though no other special features were mentioned. The PS2 set will retail for $49.99 and The Trilogy will go for $59.99. Both will be available October 18. -
McGee Working on Bad Day L.A. Movie
[xbox] In an interview released today at Idle Thumbs, designer American McGee revealed that "we are working on a film version of Bad Day LA and have recently attached a very well known animated executive producer/writer who will be taking up the charge to adapt the game story into a film story." McGee's upcoming Bad Day LA (Xbox, PC) is a humorous action game in which the player controls Anthony, a homeless man who ends up saving Los Angeles from every disaster imaginable: fires, meteors, biochemical terrorist attacks, riots, zombies, and so on. McGee hopes with the game to spur discussion on the American "culture of fear." When asked about his next project after Bad Day LA ships next year, McGee indicated it would be another of his "twisted tales" games in the tradition of Alice (PC): "Not saying exactly what it is at this point, but I have my way it will be distributed online (no box product initially), feature lots of cool fairytale worlds/characters, and be delivered in hybrid mix of episodic content and sandbox/exploration gameplay."
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Miyamoto & Dog Hitting New York
[gamecube] [ds] Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto will be visiting the Rockefeller Plaza Nintendo World Store in New York City this Sunday, September 25. The first 200 people in line to meet Miyamoto are guaranteed to receive an autograph, and the first ten people in line will have the chance to have their Nintendogs interact with Miyamoto's Nintendog using the DS game's Bark Mode multiplayer function. Nintendo will also be giving away DS skins featuring the designer's signature. -
GBA Micro Launches Well
[gba] GameSpot reports that Japanese publication Dengeki Online has released sales figures for the Game Boy Advance Micro's launch period. The console sold approximately 148,000 units in its first week, besting the GBA SP's launch record of 110,000 units. Reports indicate that between 40% and 60% of the units sold were the Famicom-themed model. North American retailers should start getting the Micro next week, though a Nintendo representative noted that "every store sets its own in-store date." -
Sega to Open In-House CG Studio
[ps2] [xbox] Developer/publisher Sega will be opening its own studio focusing on CG creation. The studio's duties will encompass CG for pre-rendered cutscenes, in-game rendering, business software, theme park rides, TV animation, and possibly game work for other developers. Sega issued the following statement: "With the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 expanding the possibilities of how well we can express art on screen, CG will become an even greater element of the gaming experience." The company has seemingly been in overdrive lately, aggressively pursuing outside developer relationships and announcing several next- and current-gen games based both on existing and new intellectual property. -
Next Suikoden Heading to North America
[ps2] The fifth part of Konami's well-known Suikoden series of RPGs has been confirmed for localization in North America. The game will be released on PS2, though no release date has been given as of yet. Suikoden IV was released in North America this past January. -
Misc. Q&As/Features
Computer And Video Games has an interview with good old Jeff Minter in which he talks about his games and wacky music visualization work.
F-Zero GX for the GameCube. "Because I'm drooling to play it and ready to kick my girlfriend out of the house the day I get it." (submitted by chizwiz@speakeasy.net)
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by Chris Remo, Sep 12, 2005 8:00pm PDT
Well, there might not be too much LNC for the next couple days. I'll try to get what I can up, but I'll be out of town for a bit and then running around all over the place when I get back to town, so we'll see how it goes. Sorry in advance!
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Japanese Console Hype Shifts
[ps2] [xbox] [gamecube] While, unsurprisingly, Sony's PS3 remains the most anticipated console in Japan, both the Nintendo Revolution and Microsoft's Xbox 360 are gaining some ground in that market. According to a recent survey, 72.3% of the 1,000 surveyed gamers are looking forward to buying the PS3, up from 60% in July. All three companies are enjoying better prospects, but the anticipation gains by Nintendo and Microsoft are more significant proportionally. 21.9% of gamers are considering the Revolution, up from 8% in July, and 5.8% are looking to buy an Xbox 360, up from 2%. While the situation is looking up for Microsoft, the company still has an uphill battle ahead to increase its console's demand in the territory, to which Microsoft has repeatedly pledged its support recently. Without the ubiquitous appeal of the Sony brand, the many franchises and the portable juggernaut of Nintendo, or simply the advantage of being Japanese, the Microsoft guys have their work cut out for them. -
Treasure Still Treasures 2D
[xbox] With games like Gunstar Heroes (Gen), Astro Boy: Omega Factor (GBA), and Ikaruga (GCN, DC), there's no question that developer Treasure has a reputation as one of the finest crafters of 2D gameplay around. Fans of the studio will be pleased to know that even with yet another generation of consoles approaching, that won't change. As Treasure kicks off the next generation with a not-yet-officially-announced title for Xbox 360, the developer will stick to its 2D guns. "There is no major difference in terms of gameplay for the games that we develop regardless of whether it is for console or handheld because they are all based on 2D action," said a representative. While not a particularly suprising move, it's nice to know that there are a few well-known studios--The Behemoth being another--continuing to perfect 2D gameplay. Treasure's immediate next game will be the long-awaited Gunstar Super Heroes (GBA), due next month. -
Madden 360 To Look Like... Madden
[xbox] Remember that "Madden Next-Gen" footage EA released earlier in the year? You know, the one with the great animation and individual snowflakes and ridiculous level of detail. Well, there's finally some new footage available. Unfortunately, in a turn of events that might hypothetically in the future be referred to as "pulling a Killzone", the new footage is somewhat underwhelming compared to what we were shown before--and EA even claimed it would get better than what they had on display. The new video certainly looks quite nice, and it continues to improve graphically on what has been done in the series, but it's something of a letdown after the earlier promises. For those in doubt, 1UP has confirmed with EA that the video released today is in fact new. While 1UP speculates that the animation could be "placeholder", that seems a bit unlikely. Especially in a game focusing this heavily on individual character models, it seems a bit late in the game to be publically releasing placeholder animation as trailer material. -
Majesco Woes Continue
[ps2] [xbox] [gamecube] Adding to a financial situation that's getting more and more grim, publisher Majesco (NASDAQ symbol: COOL) posted an operating loss of $38.6M on $4.6M in revenue this past quarter, in sharp contrast to an operating income of $3.1M on $20.5M in revenue during the same quarter of last year. The report was even lower than the projections by both analysts and Majesco itself; the company predicted losses of $19M-$22M. In response to the loss, Majesco has now lowered its full-year outlook as well, expecting a full-year loss of $40M-$45M on sales of $60M-$65M. The loss is widely attributed to the disappointing commercial performance of titles such as Double Fine's Psychonauts (PS2, Xbox, PC) and GlyphX's Advent Rising (Xbox, PC). The press release indicated that Majesco will attempt to pursue "low-risk opportunities in the mobile and online markets with our existing intellectual properties as well as new products", in addition to continuing its focus on higher-profile games. -
SSX On Tour Soundtrack List On Web
[ps2] [xbox] [gamecube] EA has revealed the full 41-song track list for its upcoming SSX On Tour (PS2, Xbox, GCN, PSP). It consists of acts such as Jurassic 5, The Hives, Pennywise, We Are Scientists, and quite a few other bands about which I know nothing at all. -
Another GTA Game Being Made
[ps2] Surprising approximately nobody anywhere, Official PlayStation 2 Magazine reports that a new Grand Theft Auto game is in the works for PS3. Thankfully, as one would expect, it will be making use of a new engine. No confirmed details are available on the game, and its release date is completely unknown. Apparently, however, Rockstar received its development kit just last month, so expect the game to be a long way off. -
Wipeout Pure: Stealth Edition
[psp] In a rather odd tie-in, Sony announced plans to release a small version of Wipeout Pure on the same UMD as the movie Stealth. The game, entitled Wipeout Pure: Stealth Edition, will feature a subset of the content of the full game, containing three tracks, three vehicles, and three modes, as well as one Stealth-based level and the option to pilot the Stealth plane from the movie. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment president Ben Feingold calls it "an unparalleled entertainment experience that marks the next phase in portable entertainment," whereas many might simply call it "a paralleled marketing maneuvre," but, hey, to each his own. The Stealth UMD will retail for $39.95. Most UMD films are priced between $20 and $30, and most PSP games are priced between $40 and $50. -
Misc. Q&As/Features
GameSpot has a Designer Diary #1 from Aaron Loeb, producer for Planet Moon's Infected (PSP). GameSpot has a developer video interview for Sonic Team's Sonic Rush (DS). IGN checks out the Game Boy Micro packaging. Gamasutra has a Day in the Life of Phillip Bossant, executive producer and art director on America's Army. He describes the experience of working on a contract game for the U.S. Armed Forces.
Metroid Prime for the GameCube. "Brings me back to my childhood, while being pleasing to the eye" (submitted by rthsmshr)
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by Chris Remo, Aug 17, 2005 4:32pm PDT
Gaming news site GameSpot has put forth details of their upcoming "live event series for video game enthusiasts". Christened The Games and Music Experience, or G.A.M.E., the first of apparently many events will occur December 2-4 at San Francisco's Moscone Center. Unlike similar shows such as E3, G.A.M.E. will be open to the general public. Gamers will be able to try out games from a variety of publishers, such as Electronic Arts, 2K Sports and 2K Games, Activision, Capcom, Midway, Namco, and CDV Software Entertainment. Atlantic Records is also providing a lineup of bands "whose music is featured on the soundtracks of top games".
During the event, gamers will gain access to an immersive gaming playground, divided into seven differently themed gameplay areas, based on the most popular gaming genres: military, urban, sci-fi, fantasy, sports, racing, and fighting. Also featuring live music and access to game celebrities and professionals, G.A.M.E. will be a veritable gaming party, inviting the local game community to revel in all aspects of the gamer culture and lifestyle.
Does the games industry really need more events? We'll see.
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by Alec Matias, Jun 28, 2005 6:57am PDT
When Electronic Arts launched its official website for NHL 06, two very curious words were right under the logo: Exclusive License. The website didn't offer any other details, but it appeared to be quite evident that EA had signed yet another exclusivity deal with a major sports league. However, not long after the site went live, EA changed the text to read "Official License."
"EA does not have an exclusive license with the NHL," head of EA corporate communications Tammy Schachter said. "It was a mistake." If EA were to pick up the NHL license, NHL2K pulishers 2K Sports would be a publisher affected by the shift. "This is not accurate information," said 2K Sports associate public relations manager Anthony Chau. Interestingly, however, the company directed us to the NHL for any further questions regarding the matter.
So as of right now, the official word is "not true," but it's a rather peculiar goof to make. Speaking to GameSpot, the NHL
confirmed it had an existing license with the EA, but did not offer any comment about an exclusive one.
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by Alec Matias, May 17, 2005 7:25pm PDT
Guys, the exhibit halls haven't even opened yet and I'm pooped. Nintendo's decision to hold their press conference 30 minutes away from the convention center and to start it at 9am didn't help many people. While I got five and a half hours of sleep the night before, Maarten was only able to snag two and a half. Keep giving those two their deserved props, they enjoy reading your compliments. Also, I'm glad most of you are enjoying the moblog. You see a lot of weird shit walking around LA. Actually, right before the Star Wars campers, Adam Sandler was giving a speech at Mann's Chinese Theater. I think he was getting a star on the Walk of Fame. It was a pain in the ass because a crowd of people were blocking the sidewalk as Maarten and I were rushing to the car so he could start working on the Nintendo footage. Hollah!
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Game Boy Micro Revealed
[gba] Nintendo literally pulled out a big surprise at their press conference. Executive Vice President Reggie Fils-Aime yanked out of his coat pocket and proudly displayed their newest system, the Game Boy Micro. The device is tiny, measuring 4 inches wide, 2 inches tall and 0.7 inches deep. It also weighs only 2.8 ounces, the same as 80 paper clips. The two-inch screen is the finest yet on a Game Boy and will feature adjustable brightness. Overall, the reasoning for this GBA is to make it more attractive to image-concious invididuals. It's tiny, so it fits anywhere and its faceplate can be changed, making it quite customizable. -
Halo 3 Releasing Same Time as PS3
[xbox] Months ago, there was a big rumor that Halo 3 for the Xbox 360 would release at the same time as the PS3, thus taking away some of the spotlight from Sony. Well, that rumor was confirmed in Time Magazine by none other than Bill Gates. "Note to the hard-core faithful: the next version of Halo will not, repeat not, be ready in time for the launch of Xbox 360. It will be part of the all-important second wave next spring. 'It's perfect,' Gates says, radiant with bloodlust. 'The day Sony launches [the new PlayStation], and they walk right into Halo 3.'" -
New Details on Gears of War
[xbox] It was officially confirmed that Epic Games will be releasing Gears of War for the Xbox 360. Gamers have been familiar with this title ever since the announcement of the Unreal Engine 3 as all the visual assests used were from this game. GoW pits humans against an alien race called The Locusts. The game will feature both coop and deathmatch online multiplayer. A teaser site can be found here and we'll have a ton of information on this title at the start of E3. -
Mario's New Games
[gamecube] [ds]
At the Nintendo conference, the Big N announced four new GameCube titles for Mario and his merry crew. Mario Baseball, Super Mario Strikers, Mario Party 7, and Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix. Strikers is a party soccer game while the rest of the titles are pretty self-explanatory. They should all be released by the end of the year. However, the real shocker were two new portable Mario games for the Nintendo DS. Although they never really mentioned them and you only saw quick clips during different video montages, the Nintendo DS will have Mario & Luigi 2 and a new Super Mario Bros. I'll definitely dig up more info on these two at the show. -
2K Sports Starting Lineup
[xbox] 2K Sports announced their batch of titles including five for the Xbox 360. Amped 3, Top Spin 2, NBA + NHL + College Hoops 2K6, and World Poker Tour 2K6 were named. Amped 3 and Top Spin 2 are Xbox 360 only (TS2 will hit GBA and DS) whereas the rest will find homes on the PS2 and Xbox. WPT2K6 will also release for the PSP and GBA. Release dates weren't mentioned. -
24: The Game Coming Stateside
[ps2] As if there was any doubt, 2K Games announced that they will be publishing the SCEE-developed title in the United States. "Many key actors and actresses from the series will provide their likenesses and voice talent to 24: The Game, including Kiefer Sutherland, Elisha Cuthbert and Carlos Bernard. In addition, the game's storyline has been written in collaboration with series writer Duppy Demetrius and the music has been composed by Sean Callery, an Emmy award-winner for his work on 24." -
THQ Announces The Outfit
[xbox] The latest Xbox 360 title announced is THQ's The Outfit, being developed by Relic Entertainment. Described as "an explosive squad-based action game," the game is set in World War II Europe. "With their squad leaders, players will guide two squads of battle-forged soldiers on missions ranging from reconnaissance-and-rescue to search-and-destroy across immensely destructible battlefields. Players can switch between squads at any time and can strategically use squads separately, in tandem or as one super-unit." There will be both coop and versus online multiplayer when the game arrives sometime in the holiday season. -
Blizzard Buys StarCraft: Ghost Developer
Last year, Blizzard turned over the reigns to StarCraft: Ghost from Nihilistic Software to Swingin' Ape Studios. Now today, Blizzard announced it has acquired the console developer. It appears that Blizzard was happy with their progress on Ghost and will have them continue to develop console titles after they finish. "With Swingin' Ape's talented designers, programmers, and artists, we're confident we'll be able to create console games that meet the quality standards we've established for every Blizzard title," said Mike Morhaime, co-founder of Blizzard. -
Capcom Revives Final Fight
[ps2] [xbox] Capcom revealed at their E3 press event that they are resurrecting the Final Fight series on the PS2 and Xbox for release this winter. Final Fight: Streetwise ditches Cody, Hagger, and Guy for Cody's brother, Kyle Travers. You see, Cody is kidnapped by an underground gang and it's up to Kyle to find him. Respect will play a big part in Streetwise as you'll need to acquire it to build a posse, unlock weapons and moves, and unravel the story. -
Three New Metal Gear Solids
[ps2] [psp] Konami has created a new internal studios to be headed up by Hideo Kojima, appropriately named Kojima Productions, which will initially focus on three new titles in the Metal Gear Solid series. First, Metal Gear Acid 2 will arrive on the PSP with a new cel-shaded style. MGS3: Subsistence will be an improved version of MGS3, much like MGS2: Substance was to its original. Lastly, Metal Gear Solid 4 is in development for the PS3. It'll continue the story after MGS2 and there will be some sort of online battle mode, yet Kojima wouldn't go into it any further. -
Prey Also Releasing on Xbox 360
[xbox] 2K Games silently revealed that Human Head's Prey will also release on the Xbox 360. Combine that with rumors generated by TeamXbox that the Xbox 360 will use a keyboard and mouse for Unreal Tournament 2007, it appears that the Xbox 360 will be a poor man's PC gaming rig!
ActRaiser for the Super Nintendo. "Every boss had a specific strategy to beating it that was required. One of the few action games that requires creative thought and careful (yet possible) timing." (submitted by exigence7).
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by Maarten Goldstein, Jan 31, 2005 7:40am PST
Take-Two Interactive today announced that it has signed more Major League Baseball related deals, following up an agreement with the Major League Baseball Players Association with deals with Major League Baseball Properties and Major League Baseball Advanced Media. The company also signed New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter to a contract to be a spokesperson and cover athlete for 2K Sports baseball games. GameSpot has an interview with Take-Two's Paul Eibeler about the deals.
GS: Why specify the preclusion of third party publishers? PE: We just never felt it was our position to cut out the hardware companies. We look forward to working with the hardware companies and we think that it's beneficial for us to be as a partner with them, not the one that cuts them out of the business.
From day one, in all our conversations, starting with football, we said that we don't believe in the exclusive marketplace. We believe that there should be a competitive marketplace, and this is just a way of that falling into that presentation.
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by Alec Matias, Dec 06, 2004 8:00pm PST
While some sites are trying to catch up and are still posting impressions, it appears GameSpot is the second site to go live with a review of Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. They're not as generous as IGN, giving it an 8.5 out of 10, and are a bit more vocal about the negatives of the game. If you're one of the few lucky gamers to have picked this up a day early, please spoiler tag story elements no matter where you discuss the game; LNC or the latest chatty, but do please share your impressions.
 | Erased Memory Card? Here's a Free Game! A couple weeks ago, gamers who tried to play the Viewtiful Joe 2 demo on the Playstation Underground demo disc were subjected to a nasty glitch that erased all the data on their memory card. In an attempt to make it up to those victims, Sony is allowing gamers to trade-in the defective disc for a free copy of a game on a select list of titles. The list isn't that impressive, but it does include Sly 2: Band of Thieves and Hot Shots Golf Fore! View the link for the full list. |
 | Yuji Naka Has a Little Sonic in Him It appears the father of Sonic The Hedgehog has a little of 'Sonic' inside himself. The gaming legend not only creates games based around fast and twisting gameplay, he also enjoys hitting the race track from time to time. Back in mid-November, Naka was a guest racer in the Kumho Tyres Lotus Trophy in Tasmania. Although he was nowhere near the leader of the pack, he did turn in some laps that were only a second behind the top three racers. Check the link for a couple photos. |
 | Prices on Sega's 2K Sports Games On the Rise? Reuters is reporting that the $20 sports games from Sega and Take-Two may not last forever. Executive Vice President Cindi Buckwalter said, "We continue to evaluate pricing. When the next-generation hardware comes out, we do expect to introduce the sports products at premium prices." Does that mean next year's line-up will still sell at a reduced price? We'll just have to wait and see. |
| | Mega Man Anniversary Collection Coming to Xbox Due to its excellent sales on the PS2 and GameCube, Capcom has decided to port over the Mega Man Anniversary Collection to the Xbox. Since its release, it has sold over 500,000 copies. Todd Thorson, marketing director of Capcom Entertainment, said, "We are positively overwhelmed by the strong demand for the collection and anticipate its continued success at retail." |
 | Strides Made in Quest to Take the DS Online Gamers are an impatient group of people. Instead of waiting for Nintendo to take their DS platform online, they started doing it themselves. The major player in this underground movement is TeamXlink, who already have some stuff in the alpha stages, getting the Metroid Prime: Hunters to work over the 'net. There's also a student who has been able to find a way for the DS to download from his PC, yet has nothing to send it. |
| | Big Mutha Truckers Gets a Sequel Here's a surprising stat; Big Mutha Truckers sold over a million copies. Because of that popularity, THQ has gone ahead and signed off on development of a sequel for the PS2 and Xbox. Still being developed by Eutechnyx, Big Mutha Truckers 2: Truck Me Harder! is set for a summer 2005 release, where players will race for money to afford an attorney for their tax-evading mother in jail and to bribe jury members. I think I'm going to go lay down now... |
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| Misc. Media/Previews |
| | GamesAreFun hosts some high-quality images of Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerebus. |
| | Last time I'm linking to impressions of Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (Game Informer)! Get 'em while you can! TeamXbox has a breakdown on Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade. They also have some assets for Jade Empire and footage of Chicago Enforcer. |
 | IGN does a whole hands-on dealie with Resident Evil 4. Game Informer does as well. GamesAreFun posts some images of Donkey Konga: Jungle Beat. |
  | Both IGN and GameSpot has some hands-on time with the PSP. GameSpot has a hands-on impression of WWE Aftershock (NG) and media for both SSX Out of Bounds (NG) and Splinter Cell Chaos Theory (NG). |
| | IGN has a progress report on Mercenaries (PS2, Xbox) and some hands-on impressions of The Punisher (PS2, Xbox). They also slap up more images for TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (PS2, Xbox, GCN). |
Console Game of the Evening:
Way of the Warrior for the 3DO. "A White Zombie soundtrack and tongue-in-cheek fatalities made WotW a fun fighter to hold over new 3DO owners." (submitted by sinistarfith).
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