Here is another video of XCM's Rateup for the PlayStation 3. This time, its being used with Call of Duty 4 (COD4) on the PS3. This product allows you to use a keyboard and mouse just like the Xbox 360 counterpart. The video also shows you how to map controller buttons to your keyboard and mouse. It will cost you $90-$100USD at Play-Asia, Divineo China, Divineo France and Divineo US.
According to T3 magazine and a "particularly well-informed insider," the PS3 is due not just for hard drive updates, but a total design revamp down to a slimmer and smaller package sometime in the Fall. If you believe what you read, the refreshed console will sport all the same specs, but will receive a fresh coat of paint, a trip through the shrinking machine, and probably a lightened load.
Of course, this is all just wild speculation coupled with salacious, magazine-selling 3D renders of the phantom device, as Sony denies the existence of an update and we don't really know who this source is. On the other hand, the company pulls this kind of ditzy "who me?" stuff whenever it's got a new product up its sleeve -- though we're not feeling the timing on this shocker.
Nintendo's Wii Fit is the best-selling console game in Japan for the fourth week running.
The game has sold an estimated 1,283,000 units since it was released on December 1, 2007.
According to data from Media Create, the highest new entry in the Japanese charts for the week ended Jan 27 is Konami's World Soccer Winning Eleven: Ubiquitous Evolution 2008 for the PSP, at number two.
Shiny new graphics and a number of new and improved areas have been revealed in the latest batch of screens of Sony's PlayStation Home.
After being delayed from its 2007 release, the world still awaits a firm release date from Sony, but it seems the extra development time is being put to good use because it's looking really nice.
In the shots you can see some of the new outdoor environments, an empty home space that'll be yours to full with furniture and whatnot, and another peak at the Lounge, where playable arcade machines and other recreational activities can be found.
We'll have loads more info on PS Home soon, but in the meantime take a look at the screens below and, if you fancy, poke around on the new official Japanese site.
CEO of Electronic Arts John Riccitiello has admitted that the company is still experiencing issues with PlayStation 3 software development, although not with titles where the PS3 is the lead format.
Speaking in an investors conference call following the announcement of the company's financial earnings, Riccitiello said the group still had engineering work to do on the format.
"Games where we led development on the PS3 platform, like Burnout, which is doing very well on the market today, we had no issue at all," he said.
"But in circumstances where we either led on the Xbox 360 or ran parallel production, for the most part, we're still experiencing some delay on the PS3. It's a little bit more of a challenging development environment for us."
Admitting that the problem has improved over the past months, he added, "there still remains some catching up to do on the engineering side for the PS3."
The Wiimote may be spurring on the majority of desktop VR hackery these days, but at least one enterprising developer seems to be aiming to change that, and he's now showing that you can do more or less the same thing with a PlayStation Eye.
As with the Wiimote, you need a pair of homemade IR-equipped glasses, but you'll also need to perform a couple of minor modifications to the PS Eye itself. That all-important detail consists simply of a homemade lens cap that houses some exposed and developed film, which lets the camera receive only the infrared signals from the glasses. Pair that with some custom-made software (now available for the taking), and you'll be giving unsuspecting visitors motion sickness in no time. Head on over after the break for a peek at the setup in action.
GAME CRITICS: GAME OF THE YEAR AWARDS ANNOUNCED
BioShock Takes Top Honors as Game of the Year
The full list of the 2007 Game Critics Awards: Game of the Year winners is now posted on the Game Critics Awards website. You can see the full list of winners at http://www.gamecriticsawards.com/goty.html.
Top 10 Games of 2007:
1.) BioShock
2.) The Orange Box
3.) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
4.) Rock Band
5.) Super Mario Galaxy
6.) Halo 3
7.) Mass Effect
8.) God of War II
9.) Assassin's Creed
10.) Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Over the last couple weeks, the PS3 rumormill has been raging, seemingly indicating that Sony is about to get rid of its 80GB PS3 SKU. Many suspect that Sony is getting ready to replace the 80GB with a 120GB model.
GameDaily BIZ has learned, however, from a very reliable source close to Sony that the company has yet to actually decide on what the next SKU configuration will be. Apparently the executive teams and product strategists have been meeting this week in Japan. "There are a lot of different strategies under consideration, but nothing is final yet. They are considering ways to put some relevant distance between the two PS3 SKUs, but it's unclear how that will roll out," our source indicated.
The PS3 Cooling fan reduces the operating temprature of the console , helping to prolong gaming sessions. The cooling fan is easy to install and just plugs into the PS3.
The Logic3 PS3 Blu-Ray / DVD Remote control is a multi functional remote designed to help you enhance your blue-ray DVD viewing experience on your PS3. Control your PS3 DVD viewing options from the comfort of your chair as well as all the standard DVD remote functions. Stylish and slick in design to match the PS3, simply connect the receiver to your PS3 and your ready to go. Display menus, options, skip and scan through scenes with the Blu-Ray / DVD Remote control, an ideal accessory for your PS3.
Play FPS and other advanced games on your Playstation 3 the way they should be, with a clear technical advantage with the XFPS Rate Up Adapter.
With this smart device, you can use a mouse and keyboard on your Playstation 3 by remapping the Dual Shock 3/Six Axis buttons to be used on the keyboard and mouse.
With great compatiblity and high sensitivity, it is a must have for all hard core FPS gamers on Playstation 3!
Electronic Arts has decided to extend the online mutiplayer portion of the Burnout Paradise demo.
Earlier this week, EA indicated that it would be switching multiplayer off as of February 1 "in order to enable the best possible experience for gamers who have purchased Burnout Paradise." The company then urged players to buy the full game.
An EA spokesperson told GamesIndustry.biz that they have extended the deadline by two weeks, and will now be switching off the servers on February 15 instead.
"As you may know, Burnout Paradise is built to provide the ultimate in freedom and discovery online and offline. The demo did a terrific job of providing players a taste of that.
"Seeing how the social online multiplayer gameplay is such a huge part of Burnout Paradise, we've decided to keep the multiplayer demo functionality on for a bit longer," the spokesperson said.
Daddy Day Camp US US$ 38.96
Damages: The Complete First Season US US$ 79.95
Dispatch Zimbabwe: Live At Madison Square Garden (~Dispatch) US US$ 29.97
King of California US US$ 34.98
Monty Python's Life of Brian US US$ 28.95
Sahara (~Matthew Mcconaughey, Penelope Cruz, ...) JPN US$ 46.90
The Invasion US US$ 35.99
U-571 (~Matthew Mcconaughey, Bill Paxton, ...) JPN US$ 46.90
Underworld (~Kate Beckinsale, Bill Nighy, ...) JPN US$ 46.90
A man robbed a GameStop store Tuesday after apparently first casing it, according to a police report.
Police said the man in his late 20s entered the store in the 1000 block of South Stapley Drive about 9 p.m. He chose some video games then said he had to go get money to pay for them.
He returned followed by another man, also in his mid 20s, who pulled out a gun and demanded money from the clerk,according to the report.
He then forced the clerk to go to a storage room and get him a PS3 Playstation, police said. Both men fled on foot.
Maintenance on the English PC/PS2 servers is complete, however the update for the Xbox 360 servers has been delayed due to an unforeseen issue with the scheduled title update. SEGA will announce a new date for the content delivery as soon as possible. In the meantime, here is a rundown of what new content to expect.
New story mission
"Restorations," the second chapter of Episode 3 has been released. Take a trip to Moatoob with Laia as you try to assist the Trade Union in their recovery following the SEED attack.
Item exchange mission
"The Collector" is now available at Melton's Shop in Holtes City. This mission lets you trade various items to Yokus Melton for new room decorations and more. Ms. Melton will also share with you any information she has on where certain items drop across Gurhal.
New items
Five new color combinations have been added to the Waiwad and Hanaura sets of clothing while the Musagante and Valatines parts sets have both received their CV versions. Also check out the offertory box at Shitenkaku, as new items have been added to the lineup of possible gifts for your donations.
System updates
Meseta drop rules have been adjusted making it where party members must be in the mission field to receive Meseta that is picked up mid-mission. Anyone in a lobby will not receive Meseta during that time. Furthermore, numerous adjustments have been made to item drops across the board. All original PSU missions have received adjustments to increase their drop rates to those of the AotI missions. Also, the drop rate for rare materials from containers has been increased in missions with enemies over LV125.
Please stay tuned for further information on the Xbox 360 update.
While it doesn't take a soothsayer to guess that Grand Theft Auto IV is going to make quite a splash in the pool of a number of family watchdog organizations when it's released upon the world come April 29 -- Dan Houser, Rockstar's VP and writer for GTA IV, recently said in an interview with Yahoo! News that he expects the fumes of controversy to waft especially thick and heavy over this particular chapter in the GTA franchise.
Why, you might ask? What could be worse than territorial gang violence, drug trafficking, or poorly rendered depictions of consensual sex between two adults? Houser explains -- the studio will definitely be hearing about certain gameplay elements, such as drunk driving, and the inclusion of current-gen advancements in video game strip club technology. Well, duh -- if a space marine and his azure-skinned concubine can't tastefully bump uglies without a media explosion, we doubt an in-game visit to The Booby Trap will be overlooked.
Team ICE and SorroW have released a "overflow.tiff" exploit today which is confirmed working on PS3 firmwares up to 2.10 on BOTH PAL and NTSC consoles.
At the moment the TIFF file freezes the PS3 via "heap overflow" (not buffer overflow), but by knowing the "backend number and making the right calls" it is possible to inject a simple code."
This is mainly being released so other hacking teams can take a crack at it, and hopefully it can accomplish what all PS3 hackers have been patiently waiting for. (Team ICE could not get the full potential of this TiFF becuase they lacked the PS3 SDK)
Turok is an epic, story-driven first-person shooter set on a dark, mysterious planet in the future. Players take on the role of Joseph Turok, a former black ops commando, now part of an elite special forces squad, known as Whiskey Company, which is on a mission to take down a war criminal – Turok’s former mentor, Roland Kane. While Whiskey Company is traveling to the genetically altered planet inhabited by Kane and his soldiers, their ship is shot down. Turok must use his elite military training to elude Kane’s well-trained army, known as Mendel-Gruman, and the ravenous, unpredictable dinosaurs, huge insects and other massive creatures that populate the dangerous environment. Turok’s mission? Survive at all costs.
features
Pages: 192
Platform: Sony PlayStation 3, X-Box 360 and PC
Maps: Labeled maps of every level make navigating easy and finding items even easier.
Combos: A full combos list including secret moves!
Walkthrough: A complete walkthough of the game will keep you from getting stuck on any one boss or puzzle.
Items: A full items list! Know what's out there and where to find it.
A few months ago, we had reported that Sega was coming up with a new game for the PC called Space Siege. The action role-playing game, it seems, could find its way on the consoles also! Now VG247 is reporting that publisher Sega is considering bringing Space Siege to the consoles.
Shawn Green is the associate producer of Space Siege at Sega. He said, “We are talking with them about it. We don’t want to let any cats out of the bag too early but definitely a console version is something that’s being considered right now. But currently it’s not confirmed.”
Green also said that console gamers like the short and sweet experience. Space Siege was showcased at the Consumer Electronic Show 2008 in Las Vegas last month. The game is being developed by Gas Powered Games. The RPG was expected to be out in the first quarter of 2008 but now it looks like the game will release for the PC in September 2008.
confirmed that a budget range of PS3 software is likely to be unveiled in the future.
Such a range is already on the way in Japan, according to IGN. A retailer over there reckons the first wave of titles will include Resistance: Fall of Man, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Gundam: Target in Sight and Ridge Racer 7. Apparently they'll be priced at JPY 3800 (around GBP 18) each.
SCEE declined to comment on the report directly. But a spokesperson did tell Eurogamer, "We have introduced a Platinum range of best selling titles for all of our platforms to date, and it is likely that we will do so in the future for PS3.
"However, no decisions have yet been made on timing or line-up," the spokesperson added.
Unreal Tournament III will at long last be hitting UK stores on February 22, retailers have revealed.
The UK's biggest online retailers, including Play, Amazon and Game are all reporting the same date. So is publisher Midway, which pretty much sets things in stone then.
There's still, however, no firm date on the arrival of the 360 version, though Play calls out a March 28 release. Though we think that's unlikely, as it the equally farfetched February 29 date on Amazon.
EA's Burnout Paradise is the first title of the new year to hold on to the number one spot in the UK all formats charts, despite a drop in sales of 13 per cent.
Spending its second week at the top of the charts, sales of the Xbox 360 sku have dropped 16 per cent, with PS3 sales down 9 per cent.
It's much better news for Nintendo, where replenished stocks of Wii Play have seen the game benefit from a massive rise in sales of 87 per cent, according to data from Chart Track, putting it at number two.
Activision's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is at three this week, while sales of Sega's Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games are down 46 per cent as it sits at number four.
DS title Dr Kawashima's Brain Training is at five this week, EA's FIFA 08 is at six and More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima is at seven.
THQ's WWE Smackdown Vs RAW 2008 is at number eight this week, with Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed at nine and The Simpsons Game at ten.
The only new release to enter the UK charts this week is Microsoft's Kingdom of Fire: Circle of Doom for the Xbox 360, entering the charts at number 33.
Sony Japan will shortly be re-releasing a number of PlayStation 3 titles in the region at a budget price
According to a report on IGN, the greatest hits package will include a number of original launch titles including Resistance: Fall of Man and Ridge Racer 7, as well as FolkSoul, Ninja Gaiden Sigma and Gundam: Target in Sight.
The titles will retail in the region for JPY 3800 (USD 35.5 / EUR 23.9), according to information from Japanese retailers, although SCEJ has yet to make an official announcement.
Electronic Arts estimates that Sony's PS3 will outsell Microsoft's Xbox 360 during 2008, while the Wii will remain the clear frontrunner in the home console market.
While Sony has cut its internal PS3 sales target for the current fiscal year, and EA has admitted that PS3 development hurdles have not yet quite been cleared, the mega-publisher behind the Madden and FIFA franchises expects Sony's next-gen console to sell up to 5.5 million units more than Microsoft's Xbox 360 across Europe and the US during 2008.
According to EA's internal estimates, Sony will sell between 4.5 and 5.5 million PS3s in the US and 5 to 6 million PS3s in Europe during 2008 - that's 9.5 to 11.5 million units in total.
Microsoft, on the other hand, is expected to sell 4.5 to 5.5 million Xbox 360s in the US, but only 1.5 to 2.5 million units in Europe, so between 6 million and 8 million units altogether.
EA also forecast that Nintendo's Wii will outsell both rival systems, shifting between 5.5 and 6.5 million units in the US and 6.5 to 7.5 million units in Europe, totalling between 12-14 million units.
US and European PS2 sales estimates range between 3.9 and 4.9 million units in total.
EA therefore estimates that total home console sales for the two regions during 2008 will range between 31.4 and 38.4 million units.
The company also expects Nintendo's DS to dominate the handheld market, shifting between 14 and 16 million units, in comparison to PSP sales of between 6 and 8 million units. Combined handheld unit sales would therefore total between 20 and 24 million.
EA stresses that its estimates may not reflect the views of the hardware manufacturers, and that its predictions are subject to alterations.
Last week Codemasters' CEO Rod Cousens told Next-Gen that he also expects Sony's PlayStation 3 to gather sales momentum over the coming years.
After a week of women name-calling guys who play games Man-teens and Child Men, Amanda Marcotte has proposed a radical idea: A woman can play video games, and can even spend that time with the man in her life. Marcotte's article responds to a piece written by Kathryn Jean Lopez, Arrested Development, on how Jason Bateman's character in Juno is nothing more than your typical immature husband, opting out of adulthood for an idealized adolescent lifestyle. Marcotte isn't having any of it. She sounds as tired of this whole "manboy" thing as the rest of us, and is stepping up to the table to say what all these angry women seem to be missing:
Women play video games. Our vaginas, surprisingly, do not stop us from using a controller.
The Xbox is not a widow maker. No matter how many TV specials say otherwise, men can be happy, productive individuals - both as part of a couple and a part of society - while still playing video games.
Movies are not the ideal place to be developing deep psychoanalytical theories about men.
Finally, a woman who isn't cursing all things video game related.
While this has nothing to do with a larger hard drive, Sony will be offering a new bundle in Australia that includes a 40GB PS3, second Sixaxis controller and one of the following games: Heavenly Sword, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction or NBA 08 all for $799.95 [£368]. Wow, that's looking a LOT better than the original $1000 [£460] PS3 launch price that Luke had to put up with.
Devil May Cry 4 is coming to 360 and PS3 this Friday. That's good news mainly for the reason that it's an awesome game. You can look forward to the review later this week, or read this if you can't wait any longer. But there's a little issue of a MASSIVE installation process that forces all PS3 gamers to wait just under 22 mins before they can tuck in to Dante's finest.
You'd think there'd be a benefit after being forced to install nearly 5GB of game data, like shorter or even no loading times during the entire game. Funny thing is though, it doesn't make much difference to load times compared to the 360 version, that you can play straight away.
We clocked the entire install process at 21 minutes, 41 seconds.
Following that the opening load time on PS3 was five seconds against eight on 360. And then three seconds versus four, and four versus five seconds in following load screens, PS3 - 360. As you can see there's not much in it.
So over the course of an eight-to-ten hour game you might get your 21 minutes back over 360 players with ever-so-slightly shorter loading times. But really?
Time to put the stopwatch away and get back to playing the game. Check out in-game footage here.
While we're 'on topic', it's also being reported that (in Japan) the PS3 version of Devil May Cry 4 is outselling the 360 game 5-1. But that's because there are only six people with 360s in the country. It'll be much closer over here, if not the other way around.
Chatter of a 120GB PS3 rippled across the internet, with multiple sources claiming a 120GB console is imminent shortly. Sony won't confirm either way, but simply reminds us that if we really want a bigger hard drive we can upgrade it ourselves.
When asked about the rumours, SCE Australia boss Michael Ephraim admitted he wouldn't reveal such plans, even if he knew of any, before adding: "The hard drive issue, we've done it so you can upgrade the hard drive.
"It's non-proprietary, and you do have external hard drives," he says, before suggesting that retailers could themselves stock PS3s with pre-fitted larger hard drives.
"With PlayTV, yes you will need more storage," he goes on to admit, "and retailers will probably accommodate those needs for consumers.
"As we all know, the price of hard drive space is coming down. If we do it, fine, but if we don't do it, the consumer will still have choice," he told The Age
You can get 500GB external hard drives for around £80 these days. Bargain.
Final Fantasy Versus XIII may be the most mysterious of the three known FFXIII projects, but, in a surprising twist, it's going to be the first one with a soundtrack! HMV Japan has posted a listing for a new soundtrack from Square Enix that will contain tracks from the TBA title.
The soundtrack is called Drammatica - The Very Best of Yoko Shimomura. Being released in celebration of Shimomura's 20th anniversary as a game music composer, the soundtrack will include selections chosen by Shimomura herself, re-recorded using overseas orchestras (overseas as in outside of Japan).
FF Versus XIII music is being included as a bonus.
Look for the Drammatica CD on March 26 at a cost of 3,000 yen. When contacting your favorite importer, ask for catalog number SQEX10112 on the Square Enix label.
microSDHC Features/Benefits
Compliant: with the SD Association Specification, Version 2.00
Versatile: can be used as full-size SDHC or miniSDHC card with appropriate adapter
Compatible: with microSDHC-enabled devices/readers only
File Format: FAT 32
Reliable: lifetime warranty
Sony Computer Entertainment Japan has unveiled a new Satin Silver PlayStation 3, to go on sale in the region on March 6.
The 40GB console will cost JPY 39,980 (USD 372/ EUR 252) and come bundled with a silver DualShock 3 controller.
Last November SCEJ launched a Ceramic White PS3 in Japan.
Sony Japan has also confirmed that it will be releasing a range of budge titles for the region known as The Best, with games Ridge Racer 7, Gundam: Target in Sight, Ninja Gaiden: Sigma, Resistance: Fall of Man and FolkSoul all retailing for JPY 3619 and going on sale Match 19.
Yesterday, Sony told GamesIndustry.biz it was "likely" that a budget PS3 software range would be introduced in Europe although no date or titles were mentioned.
The Folding@home program aids the study of protein folding in order to help scientists attempting to tackle the development of a number of diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, cystic fibrosis and certain forms of cancer.
Mass uptake of the program by PS3 users has enabled researchers to utilize the processing power of hundreds of thousands, and now a million, PlayStation 3 consoles.
Sony says that one million PS3-owning participants equates to around 3,000 PS3 owners registering per day, or two new registered users every minute worldwide, since March 2007, although PS3 users attempting to participate in the program have had a few issues recently.
"Since partnering with SCEI, we have seen our research capabilities increase by leaps and bounds through the continued participation of Folding@home users," said Vijay Pande, associate professor of Chemistry at Stanford University and Folding@home project lead.
"Now we have over one million PS3 users registered for Folding@home, allowing us to address questions previously considered impossible to tackle computationally, with the goal of finding cures to some of the world's most life-threatening diseases.
"We are grateful for the extraordinary worldwide participation by PS3 and PC users around the globe," he added.
tarting its new video game blog off with a bang, Variety reports that last spring a Grand Theft Auto movie was almost ready to roll into full production. The story goes that after years of trying, some studio actually navigated the bureaucracy of Take-Two/Rockstar and was ready to start production -- "quite possibly" with Eminem as the star. The reason this even came to be after so many years of stonewalling by GTA's rights holders is that current Take-Two chair, Strauss Zelnick, comes from traditional media at BMG music and 20th Century Fox.
Variety goes on to say that the movie was so close to being finalized that its own reporters were prepping stories, with sources at Take-Two saying it was a done deal. At the last moment though, the whole thing fell allegedly apart after the publisher couldn't finalize terms with the studio. Whether it was an issue about money or giving away the movie rights (Rockstar is very protective of its brand) is still an unanswered question. Oh well, we've gotten used to movies based on modern mega-franchise games falling apart.
Army of Two assistant producer, Matt Turner has told CVG that he fully supports PSN, but admitted experiencing "growing pains" with the relatively young system.
With its friends list access, universal game invites system and general intuitiveness, Xbox Live is rightly regarded as the superior service. Turner says, however, that PSN "has all the capabilities".
"There are extra challenges [with PSN] just because the PS3 is newer to our team so we've had to work through some growing pains, getting used to a whole new system of development," Turner told us.
"But it has all of the capabilities, it's just that at the moment we have more experience on the Xbox."
He goes on to say that the upcoming Army of Two will get over the shortfalls of the PS3 firmware's online menus in similar ways to Burnout Paradise.
"We have friends lists accessible during the game, you can send invites and your friends can join you - it's as easy as doing it on Xbox Live," he promises.
PSN is expected to catch up to (or even better, dare we speculate) Xbox Live when both a much-talked-about in-game XMB is introduced in a firmware update and PlayStation Home is released later this year.
Look out for Turner's full interview, his hopes for PS3 success in 2008 and how his game measures up to Gears of War, later today.
Capcom US has responded to CVG's report yesterday that PS3 Devil May Cry 4 forces gamers to sit through a mandatory 21 minute install time - with little improvement to load times there after.
Just to be sure, we timed the 5GB install process (which you can't opt-out of) on our PS3 retail version and it clocked in at 21 minutes, 41 seconds.
After installation, we timed DMC4's load times to be only one or two seconds shy of those in the 360 counterpart. Hardly worth sitting through 21 minutes of concept art, then.
Capcom community man Chris Kramer disagrees:
"It's true: the first time you drop your DMC4 Blu-ray disc into your PS3 tray, you're going to be treated to an exciting 22 - 25 minute load process as the disc spins a few gigs of data onto your hard drive," he admits.
"If you don't want to watch the 'Previously, on Devil May Cry...' portion of the install process, go make a sandwich and grab a soda, then come on back," Kramer joked. "You're going to be spending some serious time with this game, and we don't want you going hungry. Low blood sugar will make you dizzy and you'll need to be focused like an Alan Parsons Project to defeat the enemies in this game.
"Wah! Have you ever played a PC game? At least we aren't making you shuffle multiple discs into a ROM drive, or continuously click 'Yes!' on a series of endless Windows dialog boxes," the Capcom man continues, possibly shuffling the install-less yet basically identical 360 version out of view.
"Installing on a console may seem like a weird idea, but there's a real benefit," says Kramer.
"Once installed," he claims, "the PS3 version of the game has near-Super Nintendo speed load times. You'll be amazed how fast levels load, the virtually instantaneous transition from cut scenes to action and that you're continuously playing the game."
We're a good few hours into both versions and the load times on the PS3 version are a few seconds shorter than the 360 cousin at best. They're definitely no way near "Super Nintendo speed".
DMC4 is out on Friday. And it'll cost you an extra £10 on PS3. Check online stores for the best deal. Either way, it's still a great game - look out for the review tomorrow.
Today Konami confirmed to IGN that the franchise formerly titled Winning Eleven Soccer in the United States will now be known as Pro Evolution Soccer 2008. This in no way affects the title in Europe where it will stay known as Pro Evolution Soccer.
While we lament North America's loss of the Winning Eleven brand name (especially this year, of all years -- if Konami had stuck with the name, the game could have been called "Winning Eleven 11", and now the world will never know how awesome the world's greatest game name could have been), the change does make the series easier to talk about. Winning Eleven has always been known as "Pro Evolution Soccer (PES)" in Europe for years, while the US branch of Konami struggled with a number of names for the soccer series. Finally with the 2007 edition, Konami set up this change-over with the first step of a hybrid name, "Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer." Having both names in the game was a bold, pan-global compromise uniting all PES/W11 fans under one banner in the great land of America, but it was also an unwieldy name sure to collapse under the weight of two titanic titles clashing as one. This year, there is no conciliation in the name -- outside of Japan, Winning Eleven will now only be known as Pro Evolution Soccer. A sad day for fans of the "Winning Eleven" denomination dynasty? Perhaps. But with the grand "Pro Evolution Soccer" monogram emblazoned across the newly-christened package, Konami's winning eleventh soccer game promises to take the series to new heights of glory.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 is scheduled to ship on March 11, 2008.
Team ICE has released the first public version of their elf2self tool. This allows you to convert a regular elf into a special sony elf file. The package also includes examples, tutorials on how to use via the Motorstorm and Resistance exploits, and an xmb avatar customizer.
Since the last game in the franchise was released in the terrifying time before Joystiq (2003!), you were probably too busy fending off saber-tooth tiger attacks to bother acquainting yourself with THQ's sci-fi first-person shooter, Red Faction. The series drew much attention to its use of "GeoMod" technology, a fancy bit of programming which enabled the real-time destruction and geometric alteration of specific and often rare in-game surfaces. A third game, unsurprisingly referred to as "Red Faction 3," has now been revealed to be in development for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.
Speaking in a recent conference call, THQ CEO Brian Farrell noted that the game would once again be created by Volition, the same developer that's somehow responsible for both Saint's Row and Descent: Freespace. Red Faction 3 is expected to further enhance the franchise's destructive tendencies through the aid of today's more powerful platforms (translation: bigger 'splosions plus bloom) and should arrive somewhere between April 2008 and March 2009.
Garland-based video games developer 3D Realms has confirmed Duke Nukem Forever, the highly anticipated sequel to its revolutionary 1996 PC game Duke Nukem 3D, is headed for retail release in late 2008, and will be coming to Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 home video game consoles, as well as the PC.
"We haven't formally announced any platforms for DNF," wrote 3D Realms President Scott Miller in an e-mail exchange. "But, of course hitting the big three makes the most sense (PC, PS3, 360)."
Miller added a note of caution on the 12-years-coming sequel and its release window, claiming, "we may miss the mark by a month or two, but I feel very confident that we're on target this time."
Duke Nukem Forever is not the only 3D Realms title coming to home video game consoles in 2008. Miller also confirmed the existence of a downloadable Xbox Live Arcade version of Duke Nukem 3D, which will feature on-line multiplayer support, Xbox Live achievements, on-line score boards, and a co-op mode.
"We're really excited about bringing classic Duke to the 360," said Miller during an interview. "We're talking to Microsoft about getting a release slot sometime this year."
SouthPeak Games has revealed the full title for the first PS3 instalment in the Monster Madness series.
Monster Madness: Grave Danger is being developed with feedback from Battle of Suburbia in mind, so "every Zombie, Werewolf and Vampire has been recalled to square one".
Expect better camera angles, an improved control scheme, enhanced graphics and "expanded" online multiplayer modes. The game will also feature online co-op for up to four players. Plus there will be more than 15 new character costumes and more than 20 'Challenge' mini-games.
Monster Madness: Grave Danger is out in Q2. In the meantime, you can read Simon's review of the original and see the game in action on Eurogamer TV.
Sega's The Club, coming by the hand of PGR dev Bizarre Creations, hits PS3, 360 and PC this Friday.
Here are a few movies that just may tip the balance of if it's for you or not. But should three cuts not be enough for you, have a read of the review of the PS3 version here.
Don't expect any cars though, The Club is something completely different. But from the gameplay footage you're about to watch, it should be easy to identify what type of gamer you are? Terminator? Run and Gunner? Oh, missed the feature? Read it here then.
Rockstar has denied reports it almost gave the go-ahead to a Grand Theft Auto film last year, saying the company is "not interested" in bringing the series to the big screen.
According to Variety, a deal to develop a GTA movie was "virtually in place with one of the six major studios" last spring. "Eminem was quite possibly going to star," according to the report. The deal supposedly fell through at the last minute after Take-Two failed to agree terms with the studio.
Now Rockstar president Dan Houser has responded to the report, stating the company never considered being involved with any such project.
"Some movie producers were trying to put something together to entice us to make a movie, as studios and production teams frequently have done in the past," he told MTV.
"This proposal was no more interesting than the numerous others we receive. We never entertained proceeding with the project."
Houser further clarified, "Rockstar was not involved in this project in any way, shape or form." When asked if there are any plans to produce a GTA film in the future he replied, "It is not something we are currently interested in."
Midway Games has announced new title This is Vegas from The Suffering developer Surreal Software.
The open-world game is a new project for the publisher, as it continues to show commitment to creating new intellectual properties for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, such as the recently released John Woo's Stranglehold and Blacksite: Area 51.
"We are thrilled to be unveiling the first-ever videogame experience which allows players to live out their wildest Vegas fantasies," commented Alan Patmore, studio head at Surreal.
"Whether it's partying in the hottest night clubs, racing in underground circuits, testing your luck at the tables or getting into a bar-room brawl, This is Vegas has it all," he said.
This is Vegas is currently due for release in winter 2008.
SonicTeam have resubmitted their title update for the Xbox 360 servers and are awaiting certification. However, it will not make it in time for this Friday's update, but it may be ready for the following maintenance period on February 15th. In the meantime, the 360 servers will receive part of last week's originally scheduled update along with the Valentine's lobby scheduled for this week. SonicTeam deeply apologize for the inconvenience, and hope to have everything sorted out soon.
PC/PS2 players can expect the following content this Friday:
Seasonal lobby
Love is in the air as cities across Gurhal will be celebrating Valentine's Day. Check out the decorations and be on the lookout for the rare Rappy Amure!
GUARDIANS Boost Road
GBR kicks off on Moatoob! Run through the five assigned missions to earn points toward a ranking which will increase drop rates in these particular missions. This applies to System Defense, Desert Terror, Tunnel Recapture, Caves of Ice and Awoken Serpent.
New S2 missions
Two missions will be receiving the S2 difficulty level: Caves of Ice and Awoken Serpent.
New items, clothes
Tons of new items are being added such as the Casino Voloyal costume for all women and a plethora of new PM evolution devices including two which can transform your partner machine into completely new forms!
Please note that the rare free mission Forest of Illusion was planned to be released this week, however it has been rescheduled for the February 22nd update which should introduce even more new missions. We'll keep you updated as information surfaces.
Hard times are falling on the arcade scene in Japan. Thanks to a combination of high oil prices - keeping families away from shopping malls - and the continual inroads of home console gaming, two of Japan's biggest gaming names have announced they're closing down huge numbers of their branded arcades. Namco Bandai have announced they're closing 50-60 of their Namcoland centres (around 20% of their total), news which comes not long after Sega also announced closures, planning to shutter around 100 of their own arcades.
Top Men on the Internet have uncovered a hidden message in Twisted Metal: Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition that says the series is coming to PlayStation 3.
As spotted on NeoGAF, kids from GameFAQs discovered that random numbers displayed through the Dark Past video can be substituted for corresponding letters to give the message "Twisted Metal is coming on PS Three".
This comes a few days after David Jaffe of developer Eat Sleep Play told GamePro that "if you want to know what our next game is, it's absolutely revealed if you have a sharp eye in Twisted Metal: Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition".
"It's a really cryptic riddle we put in there," he said.
Twisted Metal publisher Sony told Eurogamer this morning that it could not comment on the reports.
Twisted Metal: Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition - out now in the States - is a budget-priced port of the PSP game Twisted Metal: Head-On, which features all sorts of added bonus content to keep fans of the series happy.
An online multiplayer demo of Capcom's frosty shooter Lost Planet has just appeared on PSN - but only if you're Japanese.
You can get at the demo, which allows for 8 player deathmatch rather than the full game's 16, by changing your PSN region and other sneaky methods of getting at juicy Far Eastern content.
The PS3 version is set to feature all the downloadable content and bonus characters from the year-old Xbox 360 version, plus via the magic of PSN you can of course play online without having to pay a penny. Nice.
From 90mm to 65mm to 45mm - IBM has announced details on a smaller, more efficient version of the Cell BE processor, which of course is the brains inside every shiny new PlayStation 3.
IBM will soon migrate from the 65nm process currently used to manufacture the chips to their next generation 45nm high-k process, which results in a Cell that requires 40 percent less power, reducing cooling costs while a smaller die means higher yields and a lower overall cost. This gives Sony a choice - reduce the price of the system to increase their install base or just ride the cheaper process for awhile to work up a little profit. Also interesting to note is that once again the shrink comes with no performance tweaks, with IBM citing the need to maintain gaming software operation. In other words, IBM's Cell division is Sony's little b***h.
The latest Japanese software sales chart has been released showing seven new entries in the top ten, including solid performances from the Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Super Smash Bros Brawl knocked out the opposition in first place, outselling its nearest rival 4-to-1 on its debut, and shifting 820,000 units across the week ending February 3, according to data compiled by Media Create.
Devil May Cry 4 for the PS3 was in second place, selling 205,000 copies, while PlayStation 2 pair Tales of Destiny: Director's Cut and Haruhi Suzumiya's Wonderment were third and fourth respectively.
The first non-new entry was Wii Fit in fifth place, with Disgaea 3 and the Xbox 360 edition of Devil May Cry 4 close behind.
Mario & Sonic at the Olympics for the Nintendo DS, Assassin's Creed for the PS3 and the latest Winning Eleven title for the PlayStation Portable rounded off the top ten.
That means that in the top ten there were six different platforms represented, and only three titles were Nintendo-based games - a turnaround from the beginning of the year as new games begin to hit the market.
The full top ten is as follows:
1. Super Smash Bros Brawl (Wii)
2. Devil May Cry 4 (PS3)
3. Tales of Destiny: Director's Cut (PS2)
4. Haruhi Suzumiya's Wonderment (PS2)
5. Wii Fit (Wii)
6. Disgaea 3 (PS3)
7. Devil May Cry 4 (360)
8. Mario & Sonic at the Olympics (DS)
9. Assassin's Creed (PS3)
10. World Soccer Winning Eleven: Ubiquitous Evolution 2008 (PSP)
Sky Diving is the GBP 3.49 downloadable game star of this week's PlayStation Store update on PS3, while PSP owners can download the WipEout Pulse Mirage Pack if they fork out GBP 3.49 on the PSP Store for PC.
The second-most exciting thing on the PS3 Store this week is a pair of free DLC updates for two of Sony's best-supported games - Folklore and MotorStorm. The former, Game Republic's charming little blend of hackandslash and spooky adventure, says hello to a new Folk called Malion.
Interestingly, said Folk was actually designed to meet the specifications outlined by the winner of a competition for PlayStation.com forumites. "The Malion (Spore Lion) runs circles around the enemy whilst creating an intoxicating spore cloud from its tail and thorny mane," Jeff Read had explained. "When the prey is dazed The Malion jumps in for the kill. The tail and claws are primary attacks, but this Folk is highly poisonous... wear protective gloves! The Malion fears fire."
This was enough to dazzle Game Republic, with dev-head Yoshiki Okamoto praising the high standard of entries. "Congratulations to Jeff, the runners-up and all the people who took the time and effort to design a new Folk," he said. "We hope you enjoyed being creative and that you continue designing."
And so do we, because it's a nice thing to hope for. As for the MotorStorm treat we mentioned, it's the enigmatically monikered "MotorStorm Chinese New Year". Let us know what that one's all about in your usual special place.
Also among the downloadable treats for PS3 owners are European demos for Conflict: Denied Ops and Turok, both of which are due out on PS3 and other formats tomorrow, 8th February.
And if you absolutely can't bear to put the pad down, then Lost Planet and PixelJunk Monsters trailers are also there.
Capello, famous for his hard-line approach to discipline, has given the England squad a number of new rules to abide by under his management.
According to the Daily Mail, they include:
A ban on the 'PlayStation culture'
A ban on visitors, including agents and friends, from the team hotel in Hertfordshire
Players must eat at the same table
They have to be on time for meals
No walking around in shorts and flip-flops. They must wear England track suits
instead and suits and ties to games
No mobile phones in public areas
"If Fabio Capello is that concerned about winning with England, he may have missed a trick by banning PlayStations," writes The Times' chief football correspondent, Martin Samuel.
"What happened to playing to your strengths? PlayStation was never the problem for England's footballers anyway. PlayStation, we're good at. If Steve McClaren could have found a way of challenging Croatia to a game of Donkey Kong, he might have stood a chance. No gadgets, Fabio? Big mistake. It is the football that needs banning. That is what baffles us."
Last year Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp said that 'Xbox culture' was damaging football, while West Ham goalkeeper Rob Green said that England's footballing failures were down to gaming. Maybe Green will get a call up to Capello's second England squad if the manager gets wind of his feelings on the matter.
Capello began his England tenure with a two-one victory over Switzerland at Wembley in a friendly match on Wednesday night, so we'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now.
The Entertainment Software Rating Board says that the percentage of Mature-rated games released halved from 2005 to 2007.
In a winter newsletter, Patricia Vance, president of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), said that the amount of Mature-rated titles is declining each year despite the fact that more and more games are being released.
"The ESRB also had the biggest year ever in 2007, having assigned 1,563 ratings, a 22% increase over the prior year. And, as you'll see below, 94% of the ratings we assigned were for games appropriate for ages 13 or younger. It's never been easier to find family-friendly games that everyone can play together.
"While a handful of M-rated titles tend to garner a majority of media attention, the E (Everyone 6+) rating category continues to dominate. The E category saw the largest increase over last year, accounting for nearly 60% of ratings assigned overall.
"The M (Mature 17+) category represented 6% of the overall ratings assigned, down from 8% in 2006 and 12% in 2005.
"The E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) and T (Teen 13+) categories accounted for 15% and 20% respectively."
The last Dells we saw with a slot-loading Blu-ray drive were the XPS One and monster XPS M2010, but it looks like Round Rock's taking it mainstream soon -- the latest BIOS update for the popular XPS M1330 lists support for an unspecified "Blu-ray / DVD +/- RW Combo Drive." No word on when we'll see these actually for order, but if you were in the market for an M1330, you might consider holding off until these become available.
Welcome to this week's Games & Toys update, our weekly summary featuring all new product arrivals from the last seven days.
It's been a bit calmer in terms of new releases compared to previous week. Nevertheless, we've got a couple of highlights worth checking out. Please be reminded that Play-Asia.com is closed from February 7th until February 10th due to Chinese New Year holidays. Some preorders will ship late when we reopen on Monday, February 11th.
Popular new arrivals have been the US Xbox360™ version of Devil May Cry 4, Disney's Turok (PlayStation3™ / Xbox360™) and Oneechanbara Revolution for next gen consoles.
Interesting handheld releases have been L: The Prologue to Death Note - Rasen no Wana for Nintendo DS™ and Mobile Suit Gundam: Giren no Yabou - Axis no Kyoui (Asia / Japanese / Special Pack) for PSP™.
Here is a summary of all new releases from this week, followed by a quick preview of what is expected to be hot next week.
Xbox360™:
Battlestations: Midway JPN US$ 64.90
Devil May Cry 4 US US$ 59.90
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas (Platinum Hits) ASIA US$ 29.90
Turok US US$ 64.90
PlayStation3™:
Transformers: The Game JPN US$ 64.90
Turok US US$ 64.90
Nintendo Wii™:
BomberMan Land US US$ 34.90
Major Wii Nagero! Gyroball JPN US$ 64.90
Oneechanbara Revolution JPN US$ 59.90
PlayStation2™:
Choro Q HG 3 (Atlus Best Collection) JPN US$ 19.90
Dengeki SP: Shakugan no Shana JPN US$ 29.90
Momotarou Densetsu 15 (PlayStation2 the Best) JPN US$ 39.90
NBA Live 07 (EA Best Hits) JPN US$ 34.90
Princess Maker 5 JPN US$ 64.90
Princess Maker 5 [Limited Edition] JPN US$ 89.90
Sanyo Pachinko Paradise 13 (Irem Collection) JPN US$ 19.90
Transformers: The Game JPN US$ 64.90
Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 2: Itetsuita Kioku Tachi (Irem Collection) JPN US$ 34.90
Nintendo DS™:
Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles ASIA US$ 32.90
BomberMan Land Touch! 2 US US$ 34.90
L: The Prologue to Death Note - Rasen no Wana JPN US$ 48.90
L: The Prologue to Death Note - Rasen no Wana (Konamistyle Special Edition) JPN US$ 89.90
My French Coach Level 2: Intermediate ASIA N/A
Patto Tokueru: Indo Suugaku Drill JPN US$ 39.90
Touch! Bomberman Land (Hudson the Best) JPN US$ 29.90
Sony PSP™:
BomberMan Land US US$ 34.90
Bomberman Land Portable (Hudson the Best) JPN US$ 29.90
Capcom Classics Collection Remixed (Reprint) ASIA US$ 14.90
Coded Soul: Uke Keigareshi Idea JPN US$ 48.90
Mobile Suit Gundam: Giren no Yabou - Axis no Kyoui JPN US$ 58.90
Mobile Suit Gundam: Giren no Yabou - Axis no Kyoui ASIA US$ 54.90
Mobile Suit Gundam: Giren no Yabou - Axis no Kyoui (Special Packing w/ PSP-2000 Console) JPN US$ 389.90
NBA Live 07 (EA Best Hits) JPN US$ 29.90
No Reservations JPN US$ 14.90
PC Games:
SEGA Rally Revo JPN US$ 64.90
Game Guides:
Devil May Cry 4: Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 19.90
Turok Official Strategy Guide US US$ 16.90
Toys & More:
C.I. Boys Chinese Horoscope Racing Team ASIA US$ 4.90
Dragon Ball Z DX Vol.3 Pre-Painted Figure: Super Saiyan Gokou JPN US$ 19.90
Dragon Ball Z DX Vol.3 Pre-Painted Figure: Super Saiyan Vegeta JPN US$ 19.90
Fate/hollow ataraxia Collection Vol.1 Non Scale Pre-Painted PVC Trading Figure JPN US$ 4.90
Fraulein Revoltech Series No. 002 - Fate/Hollow Ataraxia Pre-Painted Figure: Rin Tohsaka JPN US$ 24.90
Infinity Blade Sexy Girl Pre-Painted Polystone Figure: Mahosenshi Ruru JPN US$ 144.90
Magic the Gathering Morningtide Booster Pack JPN US$ 5.49
Magic the Gathering Morningtide Theme Deck JPN US$ 14.90
One Piece Neo-3 - Portraits of Pirates P.O.P. Excellent Model 1/8 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Mr.2 Bon Kurei JPN US$ 49.90
One Piece Neo-3
