Next Gen recently had a chance to sit down with Ubisoft and discuss the next addition to the Prince of Persia franchise. The team is excited that this isn't just another tired rehash of the same characters and setting, however, promising a new prince and open world adventuring on top of the already rich world of the previous games.
"'We had a whole story with the previous trilogy, and Prince of Persia is a general universe where several different stories can unfold,' [creative director Jean-Christophe] explains. 'We're starting afresh, in the same universe, and we wanted to bring something new while keeping what worked before. We introduce a new Prince, who won't start as a prince, more a drifter and adventurer, lost in the desert. He'll be confronted by a lot of fantasy settings, as opposed to Assassin's Creed, which was more realistic. Here he will come to a land and be engulfed in the conflict between two ancient gods, in this very specific region of Persia. It's based on an old Persian religion, Zoroastrianism, and the battle between light and darkness.'"
There's nothing we enjoy quite as much after a long evening of gaming than tending to our resident houseplants, one of which teeters on the edge of death while the other, greener replacement waits for when the original inevitably shuffles off its leafy coil. Now, however, it seems that players in Japan may soon be able to take on this diversion with controller in hand as well, as Famitsu has revealed a new PSN title from SCEJ and movie house Premium Agency called Shikitei (literally translated as "Four Seasons Garden"), that premises to let us plant a garden and watch it grow.
Watch being the operative word here, as it seems that even virtually Sony doesn't trust our green thumbs, the report revealing that the game, or "environmental simulator" according to IGN, will focus more on letting players design gardens before letting the program have its way with them. In fact, according to producer Rie Nakamura, the title will include no gaming elements at all. Fun! Still, for all of its hands-offness, Shikitei will include elements such as custom soundtracks, as well as the ability to take a stroll through the virtual eden, no doubt offering solace in the fact that this is one garden that won't meet an untimely end at our hands. At least until we turn off the power.
Sony has just confirmed to Joystiq that the 80GB PlayStation 3 SKU, bundled with Motorstorm, is no longer being supplied to retailers. "Retailers aren't getting any new inventory of the 80GB Motorstorm bundle," said a carefully worded statement issued by Sony.
This doesn't mean the 80GB model is out of production, merely that the focus is switching to the forthcoming 80GB bundle that features a copy of Metal Gear Solid 4 and a DualShock 3 (not be confused with the limited-edition "Gun Metal Gray" bundle available exclusively through Konami's website).
Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone / The World's Strongest US US$ 34.98
Dragon Tiger Gate (~Donnie Yen, Nicholas Tse, ...) US US$ 29.95
I, Robot (~Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, ...) JPN US$ 46.90
Jumper (~Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson, ...) HK US$ 31.90
Kung Fu Dunk (~Jay Chou, Charlene Choi, ...) HK US$ 31.90
Paintball the Movie (~Jesse Hlubik, Brian Gianci, ...) US US$ 13.98
Rambo [dts] (~Sylvester Stallone, Julie Benz, ...) US US$ 39.99
Rambo 1-3 Box Set US US$ 49.99
Rambo 3 [dts] US US$ 19.99
Rambo: First Blood Part II [dts] (~Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, ...) US US$ 19.99
The Air I Breathe (~Forest Whitaker, Brendan Fraser, ...) US US$ 35.98
The Fly (~Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis) JPN US$ 46.90
features
Intense mission-based combat: QUAKE Wars pits teams against each other on massive maps located in desert, Arctic, and tropical environments. Players battle through intense skirmishes with real military style objectives
Offline and online modes: Hone your skills against surprisingly lifelike A.I. offline, then join the battle online with friends.
Unique teams and character classes: The GDF and Strogg are two distinct armies with different soldier classes, weapons, vehicles, and tactics.
Team-based combat: Using class-specific skills, players can be the linchpin of an entire operation
Skill-based matchmaking: Get the perfect challenge in every online game with a match geared to your skills
description
Experience the ultimate team - and mission-based multiplayer warfare, defined by award winning Return to Castle Wolfenstein Multiplayer, now set in the legendary QUAKE universe. Choose to play as the human Global Defense Force or the invading alien menace, the Strogg. Each side has distinct classes, vehicles, and weapons to choose from, giving players countless ways to join the battle.
GRID will take players to beautifully realised and dramatic race locations over three continents to compete in an unprecedented variety of racing events. Packed with the most powerful race cars – new and classic, circuit and drift – players will compete to conquer the most prestigious official race tracks and championships and then go beyond to compete in challenging city-based competitions, through to road events and urban street races.
In Europe, race gamers will compete on the greatest official tracks in prestige Marques including Aston Martin, Koenigsegg and Pagani. Iconic cities across the U.S. – including San Francisco, Washington DC and Detroit and each with their own atmosphere and events – play hosts to diverse street races. Here, high-performance V8 muscle cars set the pace in aggressive closely fought pack competitions.
In the Far East, Japanese racing culture sets the tone where night races, including Drift racing, take drivers through neon illuminated cities and to outlying mountain roads. There is also the opportunity to compete in races that operate on the fringes of legality in the back streets and industrial areas of Yokohama.
Gaming Age yesterday posted a report that in-game Xross Media Bar support will in fact be a part of the Playstation 3 Firmware Update 2.40, which will release "sometime in June."
Reader hukeedonfonics also tipped us to the above video, which shows in-game XMB over the BioShock title screen. Comments claim a BioShock developer leaked it.
Gaming Age writes that requested features like a universal friends list, and in-game messaging will be a part of the drop, in addition to "a few rather nice surprises (*cough*soundtracks*cough*)" (their words, not mine.)
So, spread the word, and we'll hopefully have more on this as it develops.
You know it, you love it, Tell Us Dammit. No, rather TELL US DAMMIT. Yep! Time to learn about each other. How it works: We ask a question, you answer it. Simple and no strings attached! This isn't some marketing survey or whatever. It's an emotional investment in you. Yes, we're interesting in knowing you, Kotaku reader person. You probably know ****tons about us — more than you even want to, we're sure. But, hey, we'd like to know about you. That way you won't be some faceless blob — and we might feel a tinge of guilt when we ban your ass. Or not, because really we're incapable of human emotion. Sadness.
Question
What is the longest you have gone without gaming?
It's not confirmed by Sony just yet, but Videogaming247 says it has it on "good authority" that the upcoming version 2.40 firmware update for the PS3 will at long last bring with it in-game XMB, as well as the slightly less-anticipated trophy support. If those sources are to be believed, the update will be dropping sometime in June, with some speculation further pointing to a release in advance of Metal Gear Solid 4's June 12th launch. There's apparently still some testing to be done to ensure that the in-game XMB will work with all titles, however, and it seems like features like trophies and user-music via XMB will only be supported in games created with the new developers tools that have apparently already been released in advance of the firmware update.
And no word on when it will actually arrive. In an interview with VideoGamer.com, Nour Polloni of developer Eden Games says the game is "not performing as well on PS3 as we hope it is in terms of frame rate," and they're holding back the title in order to give PS3 players their money's worth.
"We didn't want it to come out and have less of an experience for the PS3 gamer," Polloni said. "We wanted to tweak that up and make sure they get the best experience on PS3 as much as possible."
Alone in the Dark for PS3 will be the same content as the 360 and PC versions but will still be "worth the wait." Those two consoles plus the PS2 and Wii versions will drop on June 24.
And, interestingly, he got real cagey about multiplayer possibilities in this franchise.
PlayStation 3 Eye USB 2.0 Camera
Manufacturer: Sony
Site: Buy from ConsoleSource
Price: $44.95
Overview : Revolutionize your interactive gaming and online communication experience with the PLAYSTATION®Eye USB camera. The PLAYSTATION®Eye has the ability to reduce background noise and focus on the spoken word for smoother, more accurate speech recognition and transfer. The fast frame rate allows for improved tracking and responsiveness for pristine video quality. The PLAYSTATION®Eye is also engineered to perform well in low-light conditions and includes a dual action lens for close-up and full body options.
EyeCreate™ Software
EyeCreate is the first video editing software for the PLAYSTATION®3. Using EyeCreate™ and the PLAYSTATION®Eye camera, you can capture video, audio and even photos which can then be edited into a movie. An extensive list of special effects such as Color Filters, Distortions, Art Filters and Motion Trails can give your video a professional touch. There are even advanced features such as Time Lapse and Stop Motion to experiment with. Once you're done creating and editing your masterpiece, Export it to watch it on the Video folder of the XMB. EyeCreate™ will let you express yourself and get creative!
Features :
Built-in 4 microphone array
Chat with up to 6 people at once
Ultra fast frame rate of 120 frames per second ensures pristine video quality
Engineered to work well in low light conditions
Includes free EyeCreate Software download
Quality/Usability : The PlayStation 3 Eye USB 2.0 Camera is the successor of Sony's popular EyeToy for the PlayStation 2. The PS3 Eye is not only available by itself, it also comes with The Eye of Judgment collectible card game. This review will be based only on the camera.
The PlayStation Eye works exactly like its predecessor, EyeToy. Setup is easy. Just plug it into the PS3 via USB. Upon setting up the PlayStation Eye, you can preview what the Eye is looking at by simply going to "Camera Device Settings" than "Accessory Settings". This will show you what the Eye sees and you can change between 50hz or 60hz.
Above the lens are 4 microphones underneath the mesh grill. These microphones can detect where the voice is coming from. Underneath the microphones are two LEDs. The red LED on the left shows that the Eye is in use. The blue LED on the right shows that it is plugged and powered on.
What's nice about the Eye is that there is ZOOM as well as an auto-focus. You do not have to manually twist the lens in order to focus on the picture. It does it for you without you touching it. However, there are two settings on the lens where you will have to twist the lens for normal distance and ZOOM.
Since I no longer own a EyeToy, I can not compare the both side by side but the quality of the image on the Eye is pretty good. Not clear and crisp as you would find on a camera/video camera but better than your cellphone video and webcams.
The PS Eye comes with a EyeCreate editing software. It allows you to save photos, videos, and audio clips onto your PS3 hard drive. Once you have saved your images, you can add visual effects to it.
Videos can be recorded as big as 640×480 (up to 60fps) in video-capture mode. It can record as low as 320x240 (up to 120fps). Videos are saved in MPEG4 format.
Video chatting worked great and looked sharp. Depending on connection, you will notice a image lag but the audio doesnt lag/skip.
Conclusion : Overall, PlayStation 3 Eye USB 2.0 Camera works great and will come in handy when games and the PS3 finally takes advantage of it. As mentioned The Eye of Judgement takes full advantage of the PS Eye. Burnout Paradise only takes advantage of it for the license pictures. There is a lot of potential for the Eye especially when HOME comes out. Hopefully more games will also take advantage of the Eye as well.
Too bad there is only one ZOOM. So if you're sitting far away from your TV, the Eye will be capturing a lot of the background as well as your surroundings instead of just majority of you.
HMV has boasted that its Oxford Street store in London will be housing Metal Gear Solid 4 creator Hideo Kojima this afternoon.
He will be there from 12pm onwards signing pre-ordered HMV-exclusive sleeves for his upcoming game.
Note that there are only 300 of these and you will need to dish out a GBP 5 deposit to reserve your copy. Otherwise it is first come first served.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is due out for PS3 on 12th June.
Head over to our MGS4 review to find out why you could "not ask for a funnier, cleverer, more ambitious or inspired or over-the-top conclusion to the Metal Gear Solid series".
PS3 Firmware 2.4 - the one we're all waiting for - will be out on June 18, claim "unnamed sources" in Holland.
Version 2.4 is expected to introduce the much-requested in-game communication features to the console, as well as an Achievement-point equivalent Trophy system and other goodies.
"Summer" is the only official word Sony has given on 2.4's arrival, with June heavily tipped. The June 18 report from Dutch site PlayStation Only claims previous rumours of a June 10 release are false.
It's all speculation until Sony gives the official word, which we expect will be any time now.
Flipping through our copy of the July issue of EGM we were surprised to see that the editors passed up a coveted pre-release review of Metal Gear Solid 4 for ... a roundtable discussion? Turns out there's a pretty significant explanation. Here's what EGM has to say verbatim (emphasis ours):
"Metal Gear Solid 4 will hit store shelves shortly after this issue of EGM lands in your hot little hands. And four EGM editors -- Matt Leone, Jeremy Parish, Andrew Pfister, and Shane Bettenhausen -- have already invested plenty of time in the game. So why don't we have a full review in this issue? Simply put: We weren't happy with the limitations Konami wanted to impose on our comments, and rather than publish compromised reviews in the interest of being the first to rate the game, we'd rather wait until next issue, where we can be completely open and thorough with our thoughts. In the meantime, our MGS4 vets sat down for an informal chat about the game (and remember -- [once the limitations are lifted] you can find the full review on 1UP.com!)."
The full list of limitations has not been made public (Any readers out there seen the list? Care to share?), but MTV has posted two possible limitations, naming the length of cutscenes and the size of the hard drive installation as two topics that are potentially off-limits to print reviewers. Strangely, these limitations do not seem to be fully imposed on online reviewers (Eurogamer writes freely about both topics in its review), though IGN UK does vaguely acknowledge that "Konami issued us with a list of things that we're not allowed to discuss," adding, "[the] list of prohibited topics is pretty long, and even extends as far as several facts that the company itself has already made public." (It's worth noting that IGN UK confirms later in its review that one of the prohibited topics is the "total length of cutscenes," before going on to state that the cutscenes represent "about half of the content of the game.")
Clearly, Konami has issued certain limitations on pre-release reviews. The scope of these limitations and who they extend to remains unclear. (Also unclear is the potential penalty for violating them, as IGN UK seemingly does.) Still, if EGM understands these limitations to be review-compromising factors, should all pre-release reviews under Konami's guidance be filed with an asterisk?
Sony has declined to comment on speculation that it is making its very own Wiimote-style controller for PS3.
Reports suggest the platform holder ran secret focus groups in the US at the beginning of the year, where console owners were shown the motion-sensing device.
Visually it appeared very similar to the Nintendo controller, according to PlayStation LifeStyle, and was apparently "incredibly responsive and accurate".
Titles shown ranged from tennis to fencing to paintball, and when the demonstrator ducked in the latter, so did his on-screen character. The PS3 controller was also shown playing Quake on a laptop, we're told.
Of course, Sony is no stranger to motion-sensing controls, having included it in its Sixaxis pads since the launch of PlayStation 3.
Earlier this year rumours began circulating that Microsoft had its own Wiimote-style controller in the works, too, with developer Rare supposedly involved on the software side.
Harmonix Music Systems, the leading developer of music-based games, and MTV Games, a part of Viacom's MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), announced today that they will team up with Q Entertainment, a leading Japanese music game designer, to bring the best-selling music videogame Rock Band to Japan. The two studios will work together to develop the title, marking the first US-originated rock music game to be heavily localized for the Japanese market. The game will feature Japanese musical acts as well as other localized assets.
Rock Band's return to the birthplace of rhythm games will benefit from Q Entertainment's experience designing progressive and engaging games many of which have a heavy focus on integrating music elements into gameplay. Since its founding in 2003, Tokyo based Q Entertainment has become a leader in rhythm oriented titles, including the critically acclaimed music and luminary action puzzle game series Lumines,and the recently released Extend Every Extra Extreme (E4) and Rez HD for Xbox Live.
Today's announcement was also featured Saturday at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards - Japan, where a Rock Band trailer was presented. The US-version of Rock Band was also prominently featured backstage and at the afterparty, giving Japanese attendees a taste of what's to come in the newly announced title.
Rock Band, which has sold over 3 million units in North America and Europe, is an all-new platform for music fans and gamers to interact with music. The game challenges players to put together a band and tour for fame and fortune, mastering lead/bass guitar, drums and vocals.With more master recordings than any other music game, Rock Band features some of the world's biggest rock artists and spans every genre of rock ranging from alternative and classic rock to heavy metal and punk.
Rock Band is a true music platform, with over 12 million songs sold as downloadable content since its initial release. There are currently over 140 songs available for download in the Rock Band Music Store and Harmonix continues to release new music every week.
Since its North American release in 2007, Rock Bandhasgarnered over 40 awards including Game Critics Award: Best of Show E3 2007and three awards at The 11th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards including Outstanding Innovation in Gaming, Family Game of the Year, and Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack.
Videogaming 247 says it's been told by Namco Bandai US that Eternal Sonata on PS3 won't be leaving Japan. A spokesperson for the publisher tells the site that the game has only been announced for Japan and it has "no plans to release the game on the PS3 in the US at this moment." Of course, in the never-ending battle with PR semantics, "at this moment" could mean the game will eventually be announced for other territories.
Eternal Sonata's official Japan-only PS3 status might explain some of the strange things that happened late last year when the game was announced for the PS3 on the ESRB site (pictured above) and on Namco's own US site, only to be removed sometime later.
LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures takes the fun and creative construction of LEGO and combines it with the wits, daring and non-stop action from the original cinematic adventures that enthralled audiences everywhere (Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). With a unique tongue-in-cheek take on the original adventures, LEGO Indiana Jones follows Dr. Jones escapades through the jungles of South America to the mountaintops of India. Fans can build, battle and brawl their way through their favorite cinematic moments, from Indy's entanglements with snakes to his dashing boulder run.
features
Adventure with up to 20 playable characters including Prince Caspian and many creatures from Narnia
Engage in epic combat with hundreds of characters and massive battles
Drop in and play with a friend in co-op mode
description
Experience the full potential of next-gen gaming as you travel back to Narnia to overcome the evil King Miraz and restore Prince Caspian to his rightful throne
In a recent filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Activision has let it slip that Aerosmith won't be the only band to get a dedicated Guitar Hero game. Metallica is set to receive it's own entrant into the rapidly expanding franchise sometime in the near future with Guitar Hero: Metallica. No further details aside from the title were revealed but given Activision's history of sharing the love, you can expect to find it on numerous gaming platforms.
According to the document, "In fiscal 2009, we [Activision] plan to publish Guitar Hero: On Tour for the NDS; Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Guitar Hero: Metallica, and Guitar Hero IV across multiple platforms." If you care to read the entire report, head over to the SEC archives. There you'll also see that Activision's fiscal year ends on March 31, meaning you'll see Guitar Hero Metallica on store shelves before that date in 2009.
We received a couple of new screenshots today from the Obsidian-developed action-RPG game Alpha Protocol which is being developed for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC by Sega.
The screens above are only a few of the newest ones we just received so head on over to the screen gallery below to see the rest of them.
"My fellow Canadians, a matter of the greatest importance has come to our attention. TOMORROW new laws will be passed by the Canadian government which will effectively OUTLAW the use of modchips and flash carts, among other things.
This new copyright reform in the form of the Canadian DMCA has been influenced by US lobby groups rather than the voice of the Canadian people. What we're faced with is legislation that is potentially even more extreme than that of the US DMCA which is what allows the RIAA, MPAA, etc to function in the United States as they do.
This would be a blow not only to Canada, civil rights, and copyright law, but also YOUR rights, this fine community, and all of the businesses that make their living by selling said products. Our digital way of life would effectively come to a stop. They're even going as far as proposing a minimum $500 fine per incident. While copyright reform is an important issue, this is not the way to go about it.
In response to this backdoor policy making a growing movement and coalition has been actively pursuing making the Canadian voice heard in this legislative process. All is NOT lost; they previously attempted to impose similar legislation back in December but this very movement's response stopped them in their tracks. We MUST speak up! We MUST make ourselves heard before it's too late!
As such the Canadian Coalition for Electronic Rights has created a simple letter sending service that will allow for us to be heard. I implore any and all Canadians to use this service to send a letter to Prime Minister, Stephen Harper; Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry; and Josée Verner, Minister of Canadian Heritage TODAY before we have no tomorrow."
Future US has announced an agreement with Sony to produce a monthly digital program for the PlayStation Network, which will debut on June 5.
Produced by Future's magazine and website editorial staff, Qore will be an interactive games show in high-definition, downloadable directly to PlayStation 3 consoles.
"We couldn't be more excited to extend our partnership with SCEA to the PlayStation Network," said Jonathan Simpson-Bint, president of Future.
"This is an opportunity to create a branded media environment unlike anything else in the world and an example of how Future is uniquely positioned to create powerful integrated media solutions for readers and advertisers."
Future has retained advertising rights for the show, which has already gained the patronage of Burger King, Universal Pictures, Activision and Codemasters, among others.
"Qore is a uniquely targeted product, reaching gamers in the interactive, high-definition environment of the console itself," added Future's publishing director Simon Whitcombe.
"For consumers it is a relevant and compelling new format for media, and for advertisers it's a pipeline straight to the game-playing audience."
The program, hosted by Veronica Belmont, will have an introductory price of USD 2.99 for the first episode or an annual 13 episode subscription of USD 24.99. Subscribers will have special access to game demos, betas, add-ons and other downloadable and game-related content.
This comes off the back of the announcement that Future UK has entered a partnership with Tesco to produce and distribute a free new magazine in its stores.
Dark Void developer Airtight Studios is looking at the possibility of including Sixaxis motion controls in its upcoming third-person, cover-based shooter.
Although a third-person shooter, Dark Void gives players access to a jetpack that allows them to fly around the Void realm that the game's hero, Will, is trying to escape, and it's also possible to highjack enemy UFOs and pilot them, leading to suggestions it would be a good fit for Sixaxis.
"We're exploring some things with Sixaxis," lead designer Jose Perez told Eurogamer at Capcom's Captivate 08 event in Las Vegas. "Right now it controls very similar to Crimson Skies [the last game many of the team worked on] when you're doing the flight stuff, so it's something we're looking into."
The developer has no plans to include multiplayer though, and Perez said that apart from the complexity of making it work with jetpacks and UFOs, the main factor was a desire not to split the team's concentration. "We have to focus on the single-player experience first," Perez explained, pointing to the strength of recent single-player games like BioShock and Assassin's Creed.
"Then for future versions of Dark Void - you know, please!" he said, cupping his hands in prayer, "that's something that I would personally love to explore. But right now it's about: let's make sure that we make a game that's solid and quality first." That also rules out co-operative play, the developer said.
Sony has again trumpeted intention to get its virtual world Home out the door this year, though precisely what state it will be in when players are eventually allowed to log on remains another issue entirely. Speaking to Wired, PSN senior director Susan Panico referred to Home's initial roll out as "similar to Gmail," calling the online initiative's presumably fall release an "open, working beta."
These comments have not exactly filled our heart containers with confidence. Google officially launched its email service in 2004, and now, some four years later, it's still in beta.
The upcoming SOCOM Confrontation game for the PS3 will come with a free Bluetooth headset, much like the similar deal last hear with Warhawk. This headset, however, looks very PlayStation-branded and neutral (unlike the Warhawk one, which just looked ugly), leading us to believe that it could serve as the "official" PlayStation 3 headset if Sony wanted. Why Sony still hasn't come out with an official Sony/PS3 branded one is a mystery to us. Maybe they don't like money?
Compared to basically every other appliance you have plugged in at home, the Playstation 3 sucks up more juice. That's according to a new study by Australian consumer agency Choice, which found that when a PS3 is running, it sucks up five times more energy than a refrigerator. If you leave it on all the time for something like Folding@Home, you're looking at an energy cost of nearly $250 a year.
The Xbox 360 isn't all that much better, using 23.57kWh per week when idling compared to the PS3's 31.74kWh. The Wii, on the other hand, is downright dainty in comparison, using only 2.97kWh per week when idling, less than 10% of the energy used by the PS3.
It's all a good lesson to simply turn off your console, whatever it may be, when you aren't using it. I'm not one to disparage the good work done by Folding@Home, but if you leave your console cranking away on it all the time you'll spend enough to go out and buy a Wii by the time a year is up.
Within the 85 plus new features and enhancements in Madden NFL 09, EA Sports BackTrack and the Virtual Training Center allow the gamer to have a unique gameplay experience each time they load up the game. Both Madden NFL veterans and casual gamers new to the franchise can utilize these two features to be competitive in Madden NFL 09 and also improve their overall football knowledge, regardless of their initial skill level.
The Virtual Training Center is a new interactive tutorial mode, set in a holographic environment that aims at teaching gamers fundamental concepts about football strategy and how to use the controls in quick, fun and stylized drills. After players complete these drills, a Madden IQ score is given, and their "My Skills" difficulty settings are automatically set based on their strengths and weaknesses. Throughout their Madden NFL career, the all-new Adaptive Difficulty Engine will continually tailor the difficulty settings as the gamers' Madden IQ score evolves.
EA Sports BackTrack is a new replay learning tool imbedded within the game that dissects plays and shows the player what they should have done in certain circumstances. When a mistake is made, Cris Collinsworth will breakdown where the user went wrong and what they could have done better. For advanced players, EA Sports BackTrack will give more technical information such as the play calls that were made and the success rates of the play.
Madden NFL 09 marks the 20th anniversary of one of the best-selling and most critically-acclaimed videogame franchises of all time, and the game will feature adaptable gameplay tailored to every type of gamer, online enhancements and a broadcast style presentation delivering an authentic NFL experience. Madden NFL 09 will be available in stores across North America on August 12.
The graphical enhancements of Madden NFL 09 are extremely impressive and bring the emotion of NFL football to life. Madden NFL 09 features amazing detail to stadiums, weather effects, player models and a whole host of other elements.
Madden NFL 09 will be available for the Xbox and Xbox 360 video game systems from Microsoft, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment systems, Wii, Nintendo DS, PSP (PlayStation Portable) handheld entertainment system and is rated E by the ESRB.
Sony has begun its GT Academy competition for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue.
Two winners will be invited to join a four-month, real-life racing training programme before jetting off to Dubai in January to take part in a gruelling 24-hour endurance event.
To stand a chance at winning you need to register your PSN ID on the GT Academy website, and then next time you go online in GT5 Prologue you'll be able to compete in the time trial.
If you're among the 20 fastest in your country around the Eiger Nordwand course in a Nissan Fairlady Z Version S '07, you will go through to a national final.
Only those from UK & Ireland, France, Italy, Germany & Austria, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden will get to take part. Bad luck Belgium! (We're doing a frowny face for you.)
Then, the three fastest in the national final will be going to Silverstone to compete in real-life cars and some spooky mental and physical tests. The top two here become the star prize winners.
The initial round of the competition closes on 18th July.
"This is a very exciting day for Gran Turismo," said Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi. "The Gran Turismo story started 10 years ago with the ambition to make a racing game that gives players the ultimate driving simulation experience.
"The GT Academy is the ultimate realisation of this ambition, taking the Gran Turismo experience to the next level," he added.
An as-yet unnamed third-party developer is working alongside factions of 2K on the much-anticipated PS3 conversion of BioShock, reveals Sony.
Heading the project is 2K Marin, along with 2K Boston and 2K Australia. Alyssa Finley, executive producer at 2K Marin said: "Because this is the first PS3 title from 2K Marin, 2K Australia and 2K Boston, we've also got another development partner with some outstanding PS3-specific coding chops helping out with the project."
Which developer that is, however, will be revealed in the future, she added.
Finley's also opted out of revealing what the "new features" promised in the official announcement will be, only teasing that members of the 2K Boston are "hard at work on some of the as-yet-unannounced components of the PS3 version.
"In the future, we'll go into more depth about what's different and what's new in the upcoming release," said Finley on the official PlayStation Blog.
Finley told PSM3 magazine (issue 102 on shelves tomorrow): "Sony have been tremendously supportive, but we don't have anything we can talk about yet. Anything new that we do is going through the same collaborative process that we used to make the original BioShock."
Insomniac Games' Ted Price has revealed that Resistance 1 and 2 will both support PlayStation Home and the PS3's upcoming Trophy system.
"That's the plan," said Price, in answer to a question from QuackPot as part of our latest live interview.
PlayStation Home will allow users to set up and launch multiplayer games from within its confines, and it sounds like that will apply to both the Resistance titles, the second of which is due out in November.
The news that R2 will also support Trophies is likely to fuel discussion among PS3 devotees. Sony has so far dodged talk about Trophies, despite it being an open secret that the platform holder craves an alternative to Microsoft's popular Gamerpoints system.
Sony is expected to announce a partnership deal with IGA Worldwide to open the PlayStation 3 up to dynamic in-game advertising.
IGA Worldwide is rumoured to become the first firm to sign an agreement to deliver adverts in games, soon to be followed by competitor Double Fusion, according to Forbes.
"There is no comment from us officially at this stage, obviously we would like to be on the PlayStation platform, it represents a great audience and one that is very valuable in advertising," a spokesperson for IGA Worldwide told GamesIndustry.biz.
Sony previously announced the creation of an in-game advertising department, hiring Darlene Kindler - formerly of AdScape - to oversee its in-game advertising efforts with an emphasis on Home.
Insomniac's Ted Price has said that Resistance 2's campaign "should be as long or longer than [Resistance: Fall of Man's]".
Price was talking to Eurogamer reader Darren in our latest live interview, adding that, "We haven't timed it out yet but it's shaping up to be huge."
Darren had been fishing for a different answer though, having asked whether - after "the shortness of Haze and Call of Duty 4", we would see a more expansive campaign. "By the way," Price added, "I though COD4 absolutely rocked.
"I liked the fact that its campaign wasn't 10-15 hours. It made for a more intense experience."
Sony has confirmed that two PS3 games, The Getaway and 8 Days, have been canned.
"It has been agreed that production of both 8 Days and The Getaway will cease immediately due to the redistribution of resources and budget," said Sony in an official statement.
"This decision was made following an internal review of all games and it was deemed that with the incredibly strong list of exclusive first party titles coming up both this year and in the near future, resource should be reallocated to enhance those projects closer to completion."
We can't say we're surprised - very little was known about either games, which were both in development at the Sony London Studio. Some screens released in May 2005 were the last we saw of The Getaway on PS3, and apart from the unveiling at E3 2006, 8 Days was reported to have been shown behind closed doors at GDC earlier this year.
"WWS has a reputation for innovative and entertaining games, with titles such as LittleBigPlanet, SingStar,Buzz, EyeToy and Eye of Judgement, and will continue to push the boundaries on all PlayStation platforms," concludes Sony.
A Sony UK representative assured CVG that both titles had been "completely cancelled", and so will not be rescued from the bin at a later date.
Insomniac Games, currently based in Burbank, California, is planning to open a new studio in North Carolina.
CEO and founder Ted Price told GameDaily that the company will be searching for office space over the coming months and expects to open the new studio by January 2009.
The North Carolina studio will be led by Insomniac art director Chad Dezern. Gameplay lead Shaun McCabe will act as production director.
The company plans to hire 25 to 30 new employees for the new studio - Insomniac's first expansion in 14 years.
"This is a fantastic opportunity for us to start a new group with the same philosophy that we've built up over the last 14 years at Insomniac, which is to have a team focused on top craftsmanship and attention to detail," said Price.
"It gives us a great opportunity to bring on folks who may not have the ability to make it to the West Coast or who prefer the East Coast to the West Coast."
Price did not offer any specific details about the titles that the new studio would be working on.
"One of the reasons we're close-lipped is because we don't want to mislead anybody," noted Price. "We don't try to make big promises or big statements without being able to back them up and we want to be absolutely sure our team is up, operational and going before we announce what project we're working on."
Insomniac Games' President and CEO Ted Price has said that Resistance 2 is targeting "720p, 30fps" as its resolution and frame-rate.
Price was answering a question from Eurogamer reader ps3owner in our live interview earlier, but he was unable to help senso-ji with his query about whether R2 would need a mandatory install.
"Too early to answer that one," he said. "We're still finishing up the content for the game. That's a question we'll be able to answer as we get closer to launch."
polymorph then followed up by asking for Price's views on installs. "Installs in some form or another are pretty standard for PS3 games these days," he said.
"And I think for consumers it's a good thing because it generally decreases load times. Or at least it should. Personally, I'd rather have a several-minute install the first time I play a game and then enjoy the benefits of faster loads every time I play the game after that."
This is still unconfirmed as we haven't yet seen review scans, but word has it that Japanese magazine Famitsu is giving upcoming PS3 title Metal Gear Solid 4 a perfect 40/40. Famitsu has only done this seven times. Those other "perfect" 40/40 titles are The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Soulcalibur, Vagrant Story, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Nintendogs, Final Fantasy XII and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. This makes MGS4 the first PLAYSTATION 3 title to get the coveted 40/40 score.
Eds Note: This has been confirmed as true. Hit the jump for a scan.
SEGA's UK product manager Ben Payne believes everything is in place to ensure the publisher's Hulk video game is a smash hit.
"The Incredible Hulk is Marvel's second biggest property, so awareness of the character is high. As usual, the success of any film tie-in video game is linked to the film itself, " Payne told UK trade magazine MCV. "Thankfully this film is going to be massive, and is well timed, in that it gives Indy IV its deserved moment in the spotlight, and is released two weeks before Prince Caspian.
"We envisage the game doing very well, especially as none of us will be watching the football."
SEGA's isn't banking on the popularity of the movie and the Hulk character doing all the work for them though, with a huge marketing campaign planned.
"We are replicating our Iron Man cinema activity for the The Incredible Hulk. Over the opening two weeks of the film which is released on June 12, we will hit 1.5 million admissions across Carlton Screen and Pearl and Dean advertising," said Payne.
The Incredible Hulk will be release for Xbox 360 and DS on June 13, followed on June 20 by PS2 and PS3, PC on June 20 and Wii on July 11.
Due to our site being focused on "Retro" we want your entry's to be inspired/focused on "Retro" things or "Retro" gaming. So if your planning on entering a game into the competition, we want it to be based on something "Retro" or based around "Retro" gaming.
Now this doesn't mean it has to be all 2d and pixelated sprites. You can make something 3D if you would like. As long as it is based on something "Retro" its fine by us. Same goes for emulators. If you plan on entering a emulator, your only restriction is your target console. Your emulator cannot be based on any console that is in the 7th generation.
The below list will show you what category each console is listed under :
1st > 7th Generation Consoles List
What do you mean by "Retro"?
By this we mean either any retro games : circa 1970 > 1999 or any event from that time frame. Use your imagination, a 1970's flower power game is one example I guess.
3. You MUST post your entry at RetroEmu first (including the file). You may post about your entry on other sites but you MUST post a link back to your submission post on this site.
4. Judges are Zack and hardhat, and will send out prizes two weeks after the final deadline.
5. Prizes are: 1st place - Nintendo Wii Console + Wii Sports Or 2GB Asus EEE PC (CELM-900M) 2nd place - 2GB iPod Shuffle + $100US paid by PayPal, 3rd place - Indiana Jones collection DVD Or $50US paid by PayPal.
6. You can post and update your competition entry as much as you like, from now until August 31st 2008 at 23:59 GMT.
7. Your entry/submission MUST include the RetroEmu.com splash screen at the beginning/start up of your game/emulator. You can find the splash images at the bottom of this post or HERE
8. You can choose between the following target platforms for your game/emulator entry/submission : Windows Vista/XP, Mac OS X, NDS, PS3, Wii, PSP, Ubuntu Linux.
9. You may enter an updated version of your emulator/game, but it MUST have significant changes done from the previous version.
10. Both open source and closed source submissions are allowed.
11. Breaking the rules excludes you from the competition.
12. The submission deadline will not move, so don't ask for a change.
13. The judges decisions are final, so don't say that they are unfair.
14. The judges will take into consideration user votes upon judging.
15. There is no restriction on sprite/content, you may use commercial sprites if you wish.
16. There is no restriction on programming language used. However you must include all needed runtime's, images etc with your entry in order to run your game/emulator.
17. Implementation of the Splash screen counts for a 5% judging bonus, so be creative. (i.e Special effects on splash screen).
18. You MUST include a screenshot with your entry/submission.
19. Have fun and enjoy the competition!
Splash Images :
Here are the splash Images that you MUST have displayed at the start/beginning of your game/emulator entry/submission.
Note : You may NOT make your own variations of these images, you be as creative as you like your implementation of it though. For your entry to be accepted you must use one of the following images. To request a different size, see the bottom of this message.
Remember that there is a 5% judging bonus for your implementation of the splash screen so be creative!
For PS3/Wii/XP/Vista/Mac/Ubuntu Linux :
(640x480)
For PSP :
(480x272)
For Nintendo DS :
(256x152)
If you have any questions regarding the competition or would like a splash image in a different size to the ones posted, feel free to send me a pm (private message) (at RetroEmu)
Forbes recently ran a story focusing on the best-selling US games using updated NPD Group data.
Despite the fact that the data Forbes looked at went back 15 years, all of the titles on the list were released after 2001 - perhaps not so surprising when you consider that the best-selling console of all-time (the PS2) was released in 2000.
Three titles from last year - Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, both from Activision, and EA's Madden NFL 2008 - have now made the Top Ten list, no doubt bolstered by their release on multiple platforms.
The Top Ten best-selling titles in the US based upon units sold are:
* 1. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (9.43 million)
* 2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (8.2 million)
* 3. Madden NFL 2007 (7.7 million)
* 4. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (7.3 million)
* 5. Madden NFL 2006 (6.65 million)
* 6. Halo 2 (6.6 million)
* 7. Madden NFL 2008 (6.56 million)
* 8. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (6.25 million)
* 9. Grand Theft Auto III (6.2 million)
* 10. Madden NFL 2005 (6.1 million)
Sega has announced its UK lineup for the current financial year, revealing the official launch dates for two new Sonic titles.
Speaking to MCV, the firm confirmed Sonic Unleashed will launch in November for PS3, Wii, Xbox 360 and PS2, while also announcing the Bioware-developed DS exclusive Sonic Chronicles will be out in September.
Sega also confirmed that Aliens: Colonial Marines, one of its big hopes of 2008, has been delayed and will not now be released until early 2009. The PS3 and Xbox 360 title was originally scheduled for a winter 2008 launch.
The full Sega lineup:
* The Incredible Hulk (DS and 360 - June 13; PS3 and PS2 - June 20; PC - June 27)
* Beijing 2008 (360, PS3 and PC - June 27)
* Sambe De Amigo (Wii - August)
* Space Siege (PC - August 22)
* Picto Image (DS - September)
* Golden Axe Raiders (360 and PS3 - September)
* Sonic Chronicles (DS - September)
* Yakuzza 2 (PS2 - September)
* Valkyria Chronicles (PS3 - Autumn)
* Sonic Unleashed (Wii, 260, PS2 and PS3 - November)
* Empire Total War (PC - early 2009)
* Alpha Protocol (PC, 360 and PS3 - early 2009)
* Mad World (Wii - early 2009)
* Aliens: Colonial Marines (PS3 and 360 - early 2009)
Japanese hardware saw a jump for the week ended June 1, with all consoles increasing upon their sales, according to figures from Media Create.
The PSP maintained it's dominance of the market, selling 71, 986 units this week compared to 64,449 last week. The Wii trailed behind with a total of 50,851 units sold, compared to the previous week's 49,047 units.
The Nintedo DS and PlayStation 3 followed, selling 38,355 units, up from 37,404, and 9169 units, up from 9017, respectively.
Sony's PlayStation 2 managed to sell a respectable 7203 units, an increase on last week's 7189 unit sales, while the Xbox 360 lagged behind selling only 1959 units, although this too is an increase on last weeks 1947 units.
Sony has lined up an admirable selection of items for its European PlayStation Store update this Thursday.
Unfortunately none of it looks like the US-offered treats Commando 3 and Novastrike, so you will change regions if you fancy those at USD 10 a pop.
You can get a Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit or Battlefield: Bad Company demo, though, with the former being the first time the series has hit fresh console hardware.
Or you can bolster your Guitar Hero III songs with a Motorhead pack, or make your menus look pretty with a God of War theme. Both are free.
PS3 and PSP crowds can also get their mitts on PSone classic Rainbow Six for GBP 3.49. Not to be confused with a rainbow kiss.
Or, if you fancy it, you can snatch Killzone: Liberation (PSP) for a meaty GBP 14.99.
If that all sounds like hard work, then you can sit back and watch the fresh Resident Evil 5 trailer you've probably seen on EGTV, or a Top Spin 3 debut clip.
The Bourne Conspiracy isn't out for a few weeks yet in Europe. That should give PS3 owners time to do some house cleaning on their hard drives, as the game requires 5GB free space to install - and naturally the internet's going barmy.
Previous titles to require free hard drive space include Grand Theft Auto and Devil May Cry. Metal Gear Solid 4 will soon be added to the list. Now, according to Loot Ninja, Jason Bourne is going to join the club.
Considering that Devil May Cry and Metal Gear Solid 4 need around 5 GB of space too, all of those 40 GB PS3's are going to run out of space real fast if you don't keep on top of your HDD management.
Consider yourself warned - get the feather duster out.
WHAT: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is one of the most anticipated PlayStation 3 games to date. Hosted by Konami, Best Buy in West Hollywood along with Virgin Megastore In Times Square, NY are opening their doors just prior to midnight on June 11 to allow fans the first opportunity to get their hands on Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Additionally, a special event at the PlayStation Store in the Metreon in San Francisco two days later on June 14 will take place from 4-6 pm. At all three events, fans will have the opportunity to meet the extraordinary talent behind this instant classic, including Series creator Mr. Hideo Kojima or the voice of main character Solid Snake, David Hayter, along with Producer Kenichiro Imaizumi and Associate Producer Ryan Payton, as well as Ms. Yumi Kikuchi, one of the real-life models used as the template for the game's fearsome enemies known as the "Beauties."
The fourth installment of one of the most popular video game franchises of all time, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots features a cinematic experience and visual masterpiece that will break new ground for the stealth-action genre. The Metal Gear Solid series has been around for more than a decade, sold millions of units, and has garnered critical acclaim worldwide. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, a PlayStation 3 exclusive, pushes the graphics and gameplay of the franchise to new heights.
Fans will be able to purchase a standard edition version of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots ($59.99 SRP) at the events, as well as a PlayStation 3 Metal Gear Solid 4 bundle, which includes a 80GB PlayStation 3, DualShock 3 Controller and a copy of MGS4 ($499.99 SRP).
Details on the autograph events in your market include:
LOS ANGELES
WHERE:
Best Buy
1015 N La Brea Ave
West Hollywood, CA 90038
(323) 883-0219
WHEN:
Wednesday, June 11
11:45 pm - 1:00am
TALENT APPEARING:
David Hayter (Voice of Solid Snake)
Producer Kenichiro Imaizumi
Associate Producer Ryan Payton
NEW YORK
WHERE:
Virgin Megastore
1540 Broadway
Bet. 45th & 46th Street
(212) 921-1020
WHEN:
Wednesday, June 11
11:45 pm - 1:30am
TALENT APPEARING:
Mr. Hideo Kojima (Autographs)
Model Yumi Kikuchi
SAN FRANCISCO
WHERE:
PlayStation Store at Metreon
101 Fourth Street
(415) 369-6000
WHEN:
Saturday, June 14
4 pm-6 pm
TALENT APPEARING:
Mr. Hideo Kojima (Autograph)
Producer Kenichiro Imaizumi
Associate Producer Ryan Payton
Model Yumi Kikuchi
*Please note, talent varies by market and autographs will be limited during the event period
The latest issue of Famitsu (strategically thumbed by 1UP) reports that Sony's safari simulator Afrika is due out on 28th August in Japan.
Afrika puts players in the role of a photojournalist travelling around Africa snapping wildlife, and will allow you to view the action from a variety of camera perspectives. Famitsu apparently confirms rumours that you can travel around in a jeep.
Sadly though it won't be putting you in the role of a photojournalist any time soon because Sony recently told us that it will not be publishing the Rhino Studios-developed game in Europe.
That doesn't mean somebody else won't pick it up though, and of course PS3 games are multi-region, so you can always poach it on import.
Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian, who recently hosted investors on a visit to videogame companies in the San Francisco area, warns against counting Sony out over the long haul.
"Despite ongoing modest sales trends for PS3 hardware in North America, we believe the platform may benefit from an improving software lineup - MGS 4, LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2 - and the late 2008 rollout of more robust online services," he wrote in a note to investors.
Sebastian also thinks that the PS3 could benefit from the Blu-ray format victory, a prolonged console cycle and the potential migration of the large PS2 installed base. He does not think a PS3 price cut is likely this year, however, as Sony focuses on achieving segment profitability.
The analyst continues to expect solid 17 - 18 per cent growth in videogame software sales in 2008, believing that publishers will benefit from an expanding consumer base and the increasing popularity of social and community games.
"Retailer interest continues to build for videogame products," Sebastian wrote.
"As a result of positive industry trends, software publishers are noting increasing interest from a cross-section of retailers, a number of which are allocating more shelf space to the videogame category.
"Additionally, while online distribution is still a limited market at this point, we expect software publishers will shift an increasing portion of content to online distribution channels over the next 3-5 years."
Finally, Sebastian noted that handheld game platforms have become an increasingly important part of the industry's growth. He expects further innovation in the handheld market, with the Apple iPhone and Google Android expanding the market for media-enabled smart phones.
He also thinks that Nintendo and Sony will "refresh" their respective handheld platforms - although he did not specifically indicate if this meant adding additional features or releasing entirely new SKUs.
Bethesda Softworks has today revealed the Fallout 3 Survival Edition for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but it's currently just for America.
The set includes a life-size replica of the wrist-mounted Pip-Boy 3000 worn by characters in-game, a Vault-Tech lunch box, a Vault Boy Bobblehead, an Art of Fallout 3 book and a making of DVD. Oh, and the game too.
It all sounds pretty cool. We've seen some of it - the lunch box and Bobblehead sits on the desks of the PC Zone lads within stealing range of CVG.
Unfortunately, the replica Pip-Boy 3000 doesn't detect radiation and reveal how reputable you are with those around you. It instead displays the time.
But if you really want it, you might have to take a trip across the pond or import it (and hope the game's region free).
Namco Bandai has added another Star Wars character to Soul Calibur IV, revealing that Darth Vader's Secret Apprentice from The Force Unleashed will turn up for a ruck.
If you didn't already know, the Secret Apprentice is a character created for this years' Star Wars cross-media event that covers some of the timeline between Episode III and IV. Now, according to GameSpot, he's snuck in to yet other title.
Whilst we're not entirely keen that the Soul Calibur franchise is becoming more and more a just Star Wars fighting game with each passing day, it does mean that there now will be two lightsaber-equipped characters in both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions.
Although given the usual titillation in the series, we wish they'd just put Leia in there.
Finally, one of the ideas that has been buzzing for longer down the ears of the Group SceneBeta.com admins, has got to see the light: "kinda contest" of Homebrew. And it's a "kinda contest", like that, because we haven't planned quite a contest, but something truly akin to the film festivals, someplace to bring a little homage to those coders who make the Scene grow. The most outstanding works will, also, have a cash prize; we'll give away more than €2000 (more than three grand$)! And well, those of us unable to code, will be delighted by brand new releases whatever it's our favorite platform, either PSP, Nintendo DS, Wii or PC. Be welcome to Scenery Beta 2008, our own and only homebrew festival, scenery and fiesta!
What is Scenery Beta 2008?
It's a Homebrew Festival, an "exhibition" or "fair" where we'll make know the works of coders from all around the world, and some of them as world novelty (hey, but always at coder's choice, that's absolutely only if you want!).
They may get to win cash prizes, which will be awarded by the score given by their fellow coders, and the related SceneBeta.com community and its users. You've got the details in the Scenery Beta Rules (link at the bottom of this new).
We want to warmly thank to all our sponsors their support and trust which has made this showdown possible.
Where'd you get that idea?
It's been some months now since the community Admins were toying with the idea of making some coding contest. It'd be the first time that a Spanish-speaking web did something like that. And finally, our nice little dream has come true!
I'm a coder, can I enter the showdown?
Any coder can enter the showdown, of whatever country, as long as is willing to show his/her work. The only requisite is that the Homebrew has been under development during last year (or, of course, has been created purposely for this event!), and is available to some of the 4 platforms on which we have an active community at this moment: PSP, Nintendo DS, Wii or PC. You can see the submit periods and schedules at the end of this new (Scenery Beta 2008 rules). There are 2 sections for each platform, Games and Applications (emulators will be classified as Apps).
Even more, we've open an "off-contest section", let's think of some SceneryAlpha, where to show those works which are proofs of concept, purely experimental, still unfinished or whatever, so you can get a broader audience and impact in the international Scene. We think that there is a huge load of really great ideas that get lost due to lack of, put simply, someone seeing them. And, yes, we think about giving some kind of award for great "off-contest" ideas.
Inscription period: From the moment these rules are published until Sep, 1, 2008 at 24:00 hrs (UTC+2 timezone). Just send your works to scenerybeta2008@scenebeta.com (check the rules, at the bottom of this thread, for more info).
All homebrews must include the Showcase starting/splah screen for its platform. (This is mandatory):
Official Splash Screens
For NDS:
For PC:
For PSP:
For Wii:
Scoring system
Contestant (coders/teams) votes: 50% of final score.
User votes: 25% of final score.
Organization's rating: 25% of final score.
More details in the rules (link below this thread).
What are you looking for with Scenery Beta?
First and foremost, to pay homage and respect to the scores of anonymous or little-known coders who daily struggle to make our machines more and more useful. Also, we hope that the thousands of users who visit us every day have lots of fun checking and playing with the works, comfortably sitting at home.
In a nutshell, Scenery Beta is a great homebrew fair, with cash prizes for those people who give us something to talk about in these pages.
¡Cheers to the Scene!
I dont want to bore you, so I leave here the link to know all the rules, and check the Awards for each platform.
Singulus has revealed that consumers are adopting Blu-ray faster than they did DVD, with the company having received 21 orders for Blu-ray dual-layer machines in the first quarter.
The information was revealed to shareholders at the technology manufacturer's Annual General Meeting of the Singulus Technologies in Frankfurt and directly contradicted claims by Microsoft's Robbie Bach that consumers were hesitant to upgrade to Blu-ray.
"This means that the orders for Blu-ray in the first year of the dual layer technology already by far exceeded the volume at the start of the DVD eleven years ago with 17 machines," said Stefan A Baustert, CEO of Singulus.
Blu-ray became the standard high definition format after Toshiba's decision to end its HD DVD business earlier this year. The announcement by Toshiba was then followed by Microsoft's decision to end production of the HD DVD player for Xbox 360.
SouthPeak has told Eurogamer that the PS3 version of Monster Madness has been pushed back to September.
MM: Grave Danger was expected as early as April, but has hit numerous zombie-shaped bumps along the road to release.
Monster Madness came out last summer on Xbox 360 to fairly muted applause, with online co-op noticeably absent.
But the top-down shooter is being rethought for the Sony audience and includes the ability to play with your friends online as well as mess around in 25 mini-games.
Copies of the much-anticipated Metal Gear Solid 4 have been released into the wild a full week ahead of the June 12 release date.
According to reports, some Wal-Mart stores in the US have handed over copies of Kojima's masterpiece ahead of the street date, with snaps of those turning up on the net as the purchases gloat.
Luckily for Sony, piracy won't be a problem, thanks in part to the use of Blu-Ray discs, and that's probably why Konami didn't seem to bothered in a speedily-readied statement regarding the leaks.
"Unfortunately, these things happen," it said. "As much as we like see that no one breaks streets dates, no one can monitor every single moment that a title gets packed up for shipment and when its on its way to the stores.
"The store could be at fault as well, for letting someone get a copy before the street date," said Konami (via PSU). Well yes, unless the people who bought them used Jedi mind tricks.
GTA IV has finally dropped from the top spot on the UK charts in its sixth week thanks to newcomer Lego Indiana Jones - which outsold Take-Two's game nearly 3 to 1 according to data released by Chart-Track.
Lego Indiana Jones was released on six platforms, as compared to GTA IV's two platforms, with the Wii version slightly more popular than the others. This is the first top spot for LucasArts since Lego Star Wars II was released in 2006.
Third-place Codemaster's Race Driver: GRID is closing the gap behind second-place GTA IV, with just 3,000 units separating the two.
Aside from Lego Indiana Jones, other titles new to the All Formats chart this week include Ninja Gaiden II for the Xbox 360 at number six, Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit at number eleven, and Sports Island by Konami for the Wii at number 14.
The Top Ten best-selling titles in the UK for the week ending June 7 were:
1. Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
2. Grand Theft Auto IV
3. Race Driver: GRID
4. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
5. Wii Play
6. Ninja Gaiden II
7. Mario Kart Wii
8. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
9. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
10. FIFA 2008
While the game doesn't go on sale until June 12th, Reader Snake-87 tips us that as of 10:00AM today his local shop had 500 copies of MGS4. Each copy is priced at 20KD (US$75) — and hey, that's pretty damn close to Japan prices! Certainly, this isn't the only store breaking the street date — just the only store we've heard of in Kuwait doing it! Hit the jump to see how well MGS4 goes with Kuwaiti license plates.
Criterion has wheeled out a 10th July date for its upcoming "Cagney" patch for Burnout Paradise.
Inside it are three fresh modes: Road Rage, where four of you race through checkpoints while four others try to stop you; Stunt Run, where you do tricks at the same time to rack up points; and Marked Man, where you all gang up on one person to take them down before they can complete the course.
On top of this are 70 more Freeburn challenges to get stuck into, a Hunter Olympus and secret Criterion car, fresh liveries, custom soundtrack support on PS3, and a host of bug-fixes asked for by you lot.
Head over to the official Criterion site for a full list of those.
"Cagney" is the second meaty update for Burnout Paradise, and will be followed by "Davis" and its motorbikes in August, then "Eastwood" and its island this autumn.
Analysts at Lazard Capital Markets and Wedbush Morgan secutities have said in their May NPD preview that Grand Theft Auto IV has not generated a meaningful increase in sales for either console - contradicting claims made by Microsoft and Sony - and that software sales for the month have increased in excess of 30 per cent.
Outlining predictions for the games industry ahead of the NPD results, the analysts Michael Pachter, of Wedbush Morgan, and Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets, predicted a 39 per cent and 30 percent growth in software sales respectively.
Both noted key titles for driving the sales such as Grand Theft Auto IV, Iron Man, Wii Fit, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, and of Mario Kart Wii.
"Solid videogame software sales continued in May, and we expect roughly 30 per cent growth in console and handheld software for the month," Sebastian said.
However, he added, "We do not believe the recent release of GTA IV has generated meaningful incremental demand for the Xbox 360 or PS3 platforms"
The analysts further noted that price cuts could do more than GTA IV to boost console sales.
"Next generation console unit sales are running well ahead of the level in the analogous period of 2003 (when console prices averaged under USD 200), implying room for significant sales growth as price cuts are implemented," Pachter explained.
Santa Monica developer Treyarch has revealed the first details about its upcoming shooter, Call of Duty: World at War (previously known as Call of Duty 5). Having previously developed Call of Duty 3, the team is bringing the FPS franchise back to its WWII roots. Treyarch also revealed in the Official Xbox Magazine that the next Call of Duty will, for the first time, support four-player co-op over Xbox Live. IGN has contacted the game's publisher, Activision, to see if that feature will make its way over to the other platforms, but no confirmation on that yet.
Activision announced that the latest Call of Duty would feature a new military theater last May, and has remained true to its word by taking the series to the Pacific, with players fighting the Japanese. Parts of the game will also take place in Berlin as the Russians advance in on the Germans.
Though Treyarch is developing Call of Duty: World at War, the game is still utilizing Infinity Ward's engine from last year's award-winning Call of Duty 4. The World at War team, has also had an additional year of development time when compared to its first COD effort, Call of Duty 3.
Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith has stated that the next installment of Call of Duty would make its way to the DS, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 platforms before the end of the company's 2009 fiscal year, which has typically ended on March 31.
The Cell chip that forms the brains for your slick black PS3 has been used to power the fastest supercomputer in the world.
IBM's roadrunner supercomputer has shot into the record books after having become the first computer to process one quadrillion calculations per second. That's like one of those numbers you make up after a billion and, in more technical terms, is a f**king lot.
It managed that with 12, 960 Cell processors combined with 6,948 dual core AMD Opteron chips. We'd love to get Crysis running on that bad boy.
The previous record holder, the Blue Gene computer, had many more processors - 212,992 to be exact - but only managed half the processing speed (around 478.2 teraflops, if you know what they are). You can go here if you want to geek out on more specifics.
What does that mean for games? Nothing. But you can rest in the knowledge tonight that your PS3 has a good brain in its box.
KOEI, recognized worldwide as the premier brand of strategy and action games, today announced that Fatal Inertia EX has reached gold status and will be available on June 19, 2008 exclusively on PlayStation Network, and only for PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system. A free demo of Fatal Inertia EX which includes an online multiplayer mode will also be available on the same day.
Insomniac Games has said that while Resistance 2 will have Trophy and PlayStation Home support, the features won't be added retrospectively for Resistance: Fall of Man.
Last week, during our live interview with Insomniac, CEO Ted Price was asked whether Trophy and Home support would be available for both Resistance games.
"We didn't notice the R1 in there, and while we are planning on the support for R2, we have no plans to update Resistance FOM [in this manner]," Insomniac told Eurogamer today.
Resistance 2 follows the continuing heroics of Nathan Hale in the face of the growing Chimeran threat, and features two campaigns - a regular single-player game of comparable length to the original first-person shooter release, and a separate eight-player co-operative mode. There will also be online multiplayer with support for up to 60 players.
Capcom is offering the British public its first chance to play Street Fighter IV next month.
Arcade cabinets will be wobbling their way to the Battle of Destiny, the Road to Evolution event at the London Metropolitan University on Saturday, 27th July.
Also present for the first time will be Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, which is slated for release on PC, PSN and XBLA later this summer.
The Battle of Destiny tournament has fighting fans slug it out across four games to win a place in the world final in Las Vegas in August.
If you're just going along to watch and maybe play SFIV or the other one with a really long title then you will need to cough up GBP 10.
However, those who fancy their chances at either Super Street Fighter II - Hyper Anniversary Edition, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, Capcom Vs. SNK 2 or Street Fighter 3: Third Strike will need to shell out per game.
For one tournament it will be GBP 10; for two it will be GBP 20; for three it is GBP 25 and for four it is GBP 35.
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit for the PlayStation 3 has broken into the top spot on the Japanese software chart for the week ending June 8, according to figures from Media Create.
It was followed by Mysterious Dungeon for the Wii - another new entry - forcing Konami's Powerful Pro Baseball Portable 3 for the PlayStation Portable down from first to third place.
Tecmo's DS Misa Yamamura Suspense was the next new title in the chart, entering it at number five and forcing the PSP's Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G further down the chart to sixth place.
Ninja Gaiden 2 was the final new title in this week's chart, debuting in eighth place and the only Xbox 360 title to make it into the top ten.
The full top ten is as follows:
01. Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (PS3)
02. Mysterious Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren 3 (Wii)
03. Powerful Pro Baseball Portable 3 (PSP)
04. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
05. Misa Yamamura Suspense: Kyoto Murder Files (DS)
06. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP)
07. Wii Fit (Wii)
08. Ninja Gaiden 2 (Xbox 360)
09. Family Trainer (Wii)
10. DS Beautiful Letter Training (DS)
Metal Gear Solid 4 has launched pretty much everywhere. Well, everywhere save for Spain. The game hasn't yet launched there because of a transportation strike against the high price of gasoline. Konami Europe isn't able to get the game to stores. Here's the statement from Konami Europe:
Konami Digital Entertainment Spain regrets to info of possible delays, through no fault of the company, may occur in the distribution of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for PLAYSTATION 3 in the coming days.
Although the official launch globally is June 12, 2008, the product will be unavailable this week in Spain due to the transport strike.
In the continuing effort to maintain the best gaming experience for our users, Konami Digital Entertainment deeply regrets that this contingency affect the date of launch of a long-awaited title.
Will be informed shortly of the date on which the product will be available in our country.
Bummer that the launch had to be pushed back due to a transport strike. The price of gas isn't anything to be happy about, either.
Disgaea 3's due in, oh, a couple of months in the US, but you wouldn't know it from how quiet everyone's been. What, no hype left for Nippon Ichi and Disgaea? No love for Stupid Hard Levels? For switching seats with classmates? Come ooooooonnnn. Maybe this English-language trailer for the game will get you in the mood for throws, and Prinnies, and combat of a tactical nature.
Ninja Theory co-founder Tameem Antoniades believes we are so used to seeing poor cut-scenes that we've developed a bit of a sour taste for them.
He feels the dramatics his team conjured up for Heavenly Sword using a real-time engine were not only better at conveying emotion than CGI extravaganzas such as Beowulf, but also around 15 to 20 percent cheaper.
"I think gamers are used to poor cut-scenes. That's one of the reasons they are disliked so much," Antoniades told GamesIndustry.biz. "I do honestly believe that the best cut-scenes in Heavenly Sword surpass the best scenes in Beowulf in conveying emotion.
"I see CG as digital make-up. So as long as the performance is there to start with and the CG data reflects the original performance, then it should be easy enough for a skilled animator to reach the emotional resonance of the actor.
"If you aren't able to convey emotion, then somewhere along the line something isn't working as it should be. We did a lot of research in this area and know where the 'gotchas' are. So our next project will hopefully improve on what we learnt," he added.
Unfortunately what that project will be is still unknown, although it will certainly not be a sequel to Heavenly Sword.
It will focus on the core story-telling, cinematic and combat strengths of Ninja Theory, and will also potentially coincide with a self-created animated feature film - Heavenly Sword tested this route with a series of artistic CGI shorts.
Ubisoft recently revealed it also wanted to saunter down a similar path, as co-developing a film and game side-by-side while sharing assets will apparently be hugely beneficial to both.
Head over to GamesIndustry.biz for the full interview with Ninja Theory co-founder Tameem Antoniades, where he explains why he sees the Wii in the same toy-space as Simon Says or Buckaroo.
Here are some snaps of the Metal Gear Solid 4 midnight launch event that took place on Oxford Street, London.
A camo colour-wearing crowd (and some bloke with a truly epic afro) braved the hazards and hoodies of late night London to wait in line for the 12-o-clock opening, when the first copies of the game were handed over.
Well, almost the first, anyway.
No official numbers have been issued for the night, but it looked like it went pretty well.
It's expected that the flagship title will shift a fair few PS3s, with Sony smartly putting out a hardware bundle to go with the game.
And we've got our copies sitting right here, saying "play us, play us" in a quiet voice. You guys will be too busy playing to want any news today anyway, right?
Were you at a midnight opening and then went straight home (via the muggers) to play it all night? What are your first impressions? Let us know below.
In case you're still undecided, here's PSM3's review in full. And if you've forgot what the hell the story's all about, head on over to Joystiq, who's got a good little round-up of the whole series.
In case you were thinking of skipping the approximately 8-minute install (which also translates to 4 or 5 cigarettes for our aged hero) and making a sandwich, consider the little bit of humor you'd be missing. If you're still undeterred and plan to ignore the game while it installs, check out our gallery for the sagacious and spoiler-free advice.
While some of it is a bit mundane, there are some rather humorous tidbits scattered about. For instance, how does one take a break every 15-minutes when cut-scenes run longer than that?
Photo shots of each screen during game install here
Grand Theft Auto IV was the best-selling videogame in the US for the month of May, according to data released by the NPD Group.
The Xbox 360 version of Take-Two's game topped the sales chart with over 871,000 copies sold; The PS3 version sold nearly 443,000 copies to take fourth place.
According to the NPD Group, combined sales of GTA IV have reached 4.2 million units - making it the top-selling title of the year so far.
Guitar Hero III, with 2.5 million units sold, and Rock Band, with 1.3 million units sold year to date, are both in the top ten best-selling games for 2008.
The US games industry has generated USD 6.6 billion in sales for the first five months of 2008, exceeding the total annual revenues for 1997 and putting it on pace to achieve yearly revenues in the range of USD 21 - 23 billion.
The Nintendo Wii and DS captured the top spots for hardware sales for the fourth consecutive month, selling 675,100 and 452,600 units, respectively.
Sony sold 182,300 PSP handhelds and 208,700 PlayStation 3 consoles in May, with Microsoft selling 186,600 Xbox 360 consoles.
"The continued success of GTA IV is not translating into big hardware sales for either the PS3 or the 360 but there may yet to be a lift in June due to gift-giving for Father's Day and Graduations," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.
The Top Ten best-selling titles in the US during month of May were:
* 1 Grand Theft Auto IV (360) - 871,300
* 2 Mario Kart Wii (Wii) - 787,400
* 3 Wii Fit (Wii) - 687,700
* 4 Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3) - 442,900
* 5 Wii Play (Wii) - 294,600
* 6 Super Smash Bros Brawl (Wii) - 171,100
* 7 Iron Man (PS2) - 130,600
* 8 Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii) - 116,800
* 9 Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness (DS) - 107,000
* 10 Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time (DS) - 102,000
Square Enix is still playing coy when talking about its exclusivity deals that concern upcoming RPG titles for the Xbox 360.
In a statement made on Yahoo Japan's financial site, the company affirms that there are no plans to release the just-announced Star Ocean: The Last Hope on the PlayStation 3.
This is of course careful wording -- "no plans" -- because it was quite clear at the Microsoft RPG event earlier this week that there was never any announcement of an exclusive release for the Xbox 360 (unlike the trumpeting of exclusivity for Tales of Vesperia and Infinite Undiscovery). Star Ocean 4 will launch in 2009 on the Xbox 360; that's it for now.
Latest figures for Japanesse console sales are in as follows:
Playstation Portable: 62,016
Nintendo Wii: 44,639
Nintendo DS Lite: 35,020
Playstation 3: 10,856
Playstation 2: 6,279
Xbox 360: 2,280
PSP is still on top but down roughly 10,000 from last week. Wii is second, reduced by 6,000. Next the DS follows, down 3,000. PS3 is 4th in line, up about 1,700. PS2 is in 5th spot, down 1,900. Last in 5th place is the Xbox 360, up 321.
According to a report over at GamesIndustry.biz, Sony's next motion-sensing controller is closer to fruition than we may have though. Citing various industry sources, GI explains that the company is working on a controller that breaks into two pieces, each containing an accelerometer for Wii-like motion sensing capability. The story mentions that working versions of the new controller have already been delivered to certain development partners.
Nothing official from Sony on this of course, but GI remains confident that something concrete will be announced in the coming moth, possible at the E3 expo this July.
Get ready Guitar Hero III fans, for your doom (at least according to Luke) comes on June 19th, the official release date for the Coldplay track pack on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. The three-pack of songs includes the single "Violet Hill" from their upcoming album Viva la Vida, due out June 17th, along with two of the band's older tracks, "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face" form A Rush of Blood to the Head and "Yellow". Seriously, "Yellow"? Did that even have guitar in it? I'd head over to Amazon and check out the excerpt from the song to check but that would mean I voluntarily listened to it, and I made a pledge never to do so again after they played it on the local "alternative" radio station for the millionth time.
Anyone overly excited by this track pack? Speak up, so we might poke you with sticks and try to figure out what makes you tick.
Following the announcement of North American videogames sales figures for May, all three platform holders have given themselves a big old pat on the back.
Nintendo probably deserves one, having actually sold more consoles than anybody else. Last month the Wii made up 63 per cent of all current-gen consoles sold, while the DS took a 71 per cent share of the handheld market. Lifetime sales figures for Wii and DS now stand at 10.2 million and 20 million respectively.
Of the top 30 best-selling games sold in May, 19 were for Nintendo systems. GTA IV may have topped the chart, but Mario Kart Wii was in second place with Wii Fit in third. Wii Play also did well - 295,000 copies were sold, bringing the lifetime total to 5.8 million.
"The Wii Wheel and Wii Balance Board accessories make game play fun for new gamers while presenting new challenges for those who have been playing a long time," said sales executive Cammie Dunaway, polishing the diamonds on the soles of her shoes.
Ignoring the fact Nintendo now owns most of the money in the world, Sony was quick to stick its tongue out at Microsoft. The company's statement said PS3 sales "eclipsed" those of Xbox 360, with a lead of more than 22,000 units sold.
Year-on-year, PS3 sales growth stood at 155 per cent. Software sales were also up, reaching 1.26m units during May - an increase of 234 per cent. And while more copies of GTA IV were sold for 360, Sony pointed out that more than 32 per cent of US PS3 owners bought the game. This means the attach rate was 6 per cent higher.
Between the start of January and the end of May, the PlayStation brand has generated nearly USD 2.27 billion in revenue - that's 46 per cent higher than Microsoft, according to Sony. For May only the figure stood at USD 133 million, 98 per cent higher than Microsoft.
More than 20 million pieces of content were downloaded from the PSN Store during May, including 11.6 million in North America. In total, there are now over 9 million registered PSN accounts worldwide and more than 160 million pieces of content have been downloaded.
Sony described PSP sales for May as "solid", and revealed PS2 sales were up 6.7 per cent over the previous month.
"The media have hailed 2008 as the year of the PS3, and with solid sales and growth opportunities ahead, we feel consumers are saying the same," said Sony bossman Jack Tretton.
Your Mum, said Microsoft, pointing out that Xbox 360 now has a global installed base of more than 19 million. It also has a better attach rate than any other console, with 7.7 games sold per machine.
Of the 25 top-selling first-party franchises, 21 sell best on Xbox 360. That includes GTA IV - 871,000 units have been sold for Microsoft's console, which means the Xbox 360 game is outselling "the other platform's" version by a ratio of two to one.
More third-party games are sold for Xbox 360 than other consoles, with USD 110 million in game sales generated during May. In this generation, 59 per cent of third-party games sold have been for 360.
And besides, Microsoft went on, gamers like hanging out with us best. The company quoted the results of a Nielsen survey that found gamers aged between 10 and 26 spend an average of 75 hours per month playing Xbox 360, compared to 53 hours playing PS3. The figure for Wii was 35 hours.
And besides and besides, the battle's not over yet. "We still have quite a few aces up our sleeve," the company's statement ends. "See you at E3 next month!"
It's not known whether "up our sleeve" is a reference to a new tattoo as per previous E3s, but perhaps not seeing as Peter Moore's left. Rumours Shane Kim will drop his trousers to reveal VIVA PINATA has been stamped across his buttocks, with an interesting interpretation of the dot over the second 'i', are completely made up.
Here in the US, we've heard some pretty terrifying experiences about selling modchips, but it seems as if higher-ups in the UK are being a bit more reasonable about the whole thing. Reportedly, UK-based MrModchips was cleared of all 26 counts against him for his role in importing and selling console modchips, as the Court of Appeal Criminal Division (Judge Justice Jacobs, in particular) ruled that said chips do not circumvent copyright protection. Better still, the defendant was "awarded full costs as a result of his successful appeal," and we can only assume he was smiling all the way out of the crowded courtroom. Chalk one up for the little guy.
The launch of the brilliant MGS4 is "only the beginning" of a rush of triple-A PS3-exclusives, says Sony's seemingly pleased VP of product marketing, Scott Steiner.
With some of the console's big titles like Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, GTA IV and Singstar now out the door, Steiner paints a positive picture for PS3 owners for the rest of the year.
"This is only the beginning of an ongoing software avalanche for PS3 that includes titles such as LittleBigPlanet, SOCOM: Confrontation, MotorStorm Pacific Rift and Resistance 2 that only PS3 owners will be able to exclusively enjoy," said Steiner.
He also hopes MGS4 will encourage some of the millions of hibernating PS2 fans to come out the woodwork and grab a PS3.
Let's just hope they can keep the attractive hardware bundles in stock.
Team Xtender XCM XFPS RateUp
Manufacturer: XCM
Site: Buy from Extreme-Mods
Price: $99.99
Overview : Similar to the XFPS Sniper, this unit will allow you to connect a keyboard and mouse to your Playstation 3 (PS3) console for the ultimate control in First Person Shooters. No more fumbling around with controllers, you can now point and shoot your way to victory! Play FPS's the way they were meant to be played and get an advantage over your competition! Also compatible with Playstation 2 controllers.
Features :
Compatible with ALL Playstation 3 (PS3) games
Compatible with ALL versions of Playstation 3 consoles (NTSC/US, PAL, NTSC/JAP)
Allows you to map the controller button keys to any key of the Keyboard
Compatible with 95% of different kinds of mice and keyboards.
High sensitivity, high precision controls.
Easily adjust the mouse sensitivity from 2 extra wheels with 16 levels of adjustment for X and Y sensitivity to adapt perfectly to your mouse.
Built in Turbo (Auto Fire) functionality. Independent Auto fire buttons: Eight customizable auto-fire buttons (no soldering required)
Plug & Play - Just connect the XFPS RATEUP to your Playstation 3 console and go! (No PC Required)
Ease of use: Just use the original Playstation 3 controller to re-map itself to the keyboard.
Both controller analog stick keys can also be mapped to the keyboard.
Quality/Usability : XCM has brought over its XFPS line over to the PlayStation 3. Like the XCM XFPS Sniper Plus for the Xbox 360, the XFPS RateUp allows you to connect a keyboard and mouse to your PlayStation 3. This brings the PC feeling of First Person Shooters or just the simplicity of point and click. Its as simple as plug and play.
Like the Sniper Plus for the Xbox 360, it uses keyboard and mouse. The size of the RateUp is the same as all other XFPS'. The RateUp offers X and Y axis dial which allows you to adjust the mouses sensitivity. There is also TURBO switches that lets you activate turbo for whatever button you desire. You can also program keyboards that corresponds to the buttons on the controller. However, rather than the bright and hideous colors, the RateUp comes in a clear blue casing. It looks a whole lot better to me personally. Knowing XCM and their track record, there will be newer RateUp's and I hope to see more clear colored casings.
Unlike the Xbox 360 versions, you do not need to connect your controller directly to the XFPS unless you're mapping the keyboard which will be discussed below. In order to get the XFPS RateUp to work, you need to set it to Controller 1. Your PS3 controller will already be set to Controller 1 already. To do this, simply flip the switch to DEFAULT and press F1 on the keyboard. This will bring up the PS3's menu. Just go to "Controller Settings" and change it to Controller 1. This will now bump your PS3 controller to a different slot. Now you can use your keyboard and mouse. You'll have to use the X and Y axis dials to adjust the sensitivity of the mouse to your likings.
To map keys to your keyboard, first you'll need to turn off the PS3 controller (SIXAXIS or DualShock 3). To do this, simply reset the controller by inserting a sharp object into the reset hole. Second, connect a USB cable to the PS3 controllers to XFPS RateUp. PS3 controller will be flashing and you are unable to move. Press the "PS" button to confirm and you are now able to move freely with the PS3 controller. To map buttons, set switch to "SET" and press "P" to Program. LED will now flash on RateUp. Press button you want to map such as the X button and now the LED next to "P" will flash rapidly. Now press the button you want on the keyboard such as the SPACEBAR to correspond to the X button on the PS3. The LED will now disappear. Your SPACEBAR will now act as the X button. Repeat this until you have completely mapped out your keyboard with buttons on the PS3 controller.
To map the mouse, you'll need to unplug the USB's keyboard and plug in the mouse. Repeat the same steps for mapping the keyboard. All thats left is for you to unplug the USB cable from the PS3 controller and plug back the USB of the keyboard.
You can use the XFPS RateUp with a First Person Shooter such as Call of Duty 4:
Conclusion : Overall, Team Xtender XCM XFPS Rateup works just like the XFPS on the Xbox 360. Its the same size, same layout, same design and offers the same range of features such as X and Y axis sensitivity, TURBO feature and the ability to map buttons. However, price is always a factor and the RateUp hits near the $100 mark. As mentioned above, XCM is known for releasing multiple upgraded versions of the same product. There are at least 5 version of the XFPS for the Xbox 360. Does that mean there will be multiple upgraded version for the PS3? Only XCM knows. If they can find something that they can improve on or make better, no doubt will there be a new updated version. I suggest XCM to come up with a way where current owners can upgrade the one they purchased via a firmware upgrade or something. Its ridiculous having to pay $90-100 for a new product at the time only to have a newer and upgraded version come out a couple months later. I can understand if it was a big difference but if its calibration, a simple firmware/software fix via USB should do the trick.
THQ and Sega impressed its retail and distribution partners across PAL territories last week, with a perfectly executed trade conference comprising over 400 delegates.
Following on from the success of last year’s inaugural event in Malta, the two games giants joined forces in Lisbon to show off their range of releases between now and next March.
Representatives from over 35 different countries saw detailed presentations for a slate of key titles covering everything from hard core next-gen to big licences and casual gaming.
Sega Europe president Mike Hayes and THQ executive VP of international Ian Curran (pictured) demonstrated recent growth in both the business as a whole and across the two companies.
“Screen Digest expects software sales in PAL territories to top $12 billion this year – that’s growth of five per cent over 2007,” said Hayes.
“But we think this is a little conservative. Double digit growth, or even as high as 15 per cent looks achievable.”
Sega and THQ are currently tracking at a combined market share in PAL of over 12 per cent, up a third on 2007 and up two thirds on 2003.
“Between us, our games will represent a sales opportunity across PAL of $1.5 billion at retail this year,” added Curran.
Both companies were applauded again by retailers and distributors for holding a single event that covered off two key publishers.
But whilst the addition of a third publisher would probably prove popular, there are currently no plans to widen the event for 2009.
Today is the last day in the DCEmu Games Reviews Contest - WIN 1 of 4 iTOUCHDS IN REVIEW CONTEST. There have been many review submissions from numerous contributors. Its not too late for you to enter. Register (if you havent done so already), read the guidelines and rules and start posting! Check out other reviews for how reviews are constructed.
Remember, you have until June 14th and you can submit as many reviews as you want! The more reviews, the better chance you have in winning.
If you're not going to enter, be sure to cast your vote for best reviewer when review submission has ended!
Metal Gear Solid 4 will continue to be the most played game outside of Europe this week, as there are no new titles to pick up in the US or Asia. Europeans have a relatively strong week with two decent titles and a few pieces of potential shovelware.
US Games
No new releases
EU Games
SingStar Vol II (also available without microphones)
Topspin 3
Overlord: Raising Hell
The Incredible Hulk
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
So you've read about the Guitar Hero IV controller information, the Microsoft Mii-style avatar system and the Forza 3 download scenarios, but that's not everything the dedicated NeoGAF kids managed to bust out of market research firm Intellisponse's website in the dead of the comedy night: there's also stuff on a new Silicon Knights game, Call of Duty 5 and a Microsoft SingStar pretender.
SingStar has been a huge success for Sony, of course, and apart from a miserable karaoke game for the original Xbox Microsoft has been unable to fight back. Apparently the eventual counter-punch is called "Lips", and has two wireless microphones, a catalogue of 30 songs (including Madonna), and a downloadable songs service, and rates your singing based on pitch, tone and rhythm. Distinguishing it a bit would be the option to import your own music from CDs and iPod, which would then reduce the vocal track so you can hear yourself singing along, although presumably you'd have to do without lyric prompts.
Meanwhile, Silicon Knights is on the verge of finishing Too Human - an Xbox 360 exclusive tied up with Microsoft - but the company is also known to be working with SEGA on a current-gen console title originally announced over three years ago, and now it looks like that game could be The Crucible: Evil Within. According to the Intellisponse leaksplosion, it's an action-adventure that you can check out in a short YouTube clip showing various gameplay scenarios. SEGA has been contacted for comment, but we've heard nothing back yet.
Also on the site is news of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance II, which will apparently have "over 20" playable characters including Hulk, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Venom and the Human Torch, and is supposedly set during the "Civil War" story and forces you to choose sides. There's also talk of fusing the abilities of two characters to create hybrid powers, and target platforms are said to be Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, PSP and DS.
Elsewhere on the Activision front, Call of Duty 5 is confirmed as Call of Duty: World at War, with box artwork mockups to boot. COD5 is set during World War II and is supposedly due out this year from Treyarch, with a big reveal expected later this month.
That's still not everything, either. There's a leaked video of Ultimate Band, Disney's Wiimote-and-nunchuk-controlled Rock Band equivalent; talk of Wii Yoga, with "adaptable weekly schedule of exercises that will leave you feeling refreshed" where you match a yoga guru's on-screen "poses, stretches and triangular positions" with Wiimote and balance board (publisher/developer unknown); a pop culture version of the "Scene It?" quiz game; and a few other things that we're checking out with publishers at the time of writing.
Poor old Intellisponse. Now, if you'll excuse us, we're off to change all our passwords.
Konami's Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots has debuted at number one on the UK charts according to data released by Chart-Track.
MGS4 supplants multi-platform title Lego Indiana Jones - last week's number one title - despite being released only on PlayStation 3. It has become the second fastest-selling PS3 game in the UK behind GTA IV and ahead of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue.
MGS4 has also beat MGS3 by 24,000 units but fell 14,000 units short of beating launch week sales of MGS2.
Wii Fit, which dropped off the charts shortly after launch due to supply constraints, has returned to take the tenth position. Sid Meier's Civilization: Revolution, a new release for Xbox 360 and PS3, debuts at number nine.
The week's other new release - Don King Presents: Prizefighter - debuted at number twenty-five on the chart.
The Top Ten best-selling titles in the UK for the week ending June 14 were:
1 Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
2 Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
3 Grand Theft Auto IV
4 Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
5 Dr Kawashima's Brain Training
6 Race Driver: GRID
7 Wii Play
8 Sports Island
9 Sid Meier's Civilization: Revolution
10 Wii Fit
Apparently the Guitar Hero World Tour controller will feature a "new touch-sensitive guitar Neck Slide" which "opens up the entire guitar neck for unbound solos", so you can "shred how you want".
As previously announced the game will ship with a microphone and wireless drum kit, complete with cymbals and soft pads for quieter play. The whole shebang will cost USD 179.99, according to Intellisponse. Historical evidence suggests it'll be more expensive in Europe, but perhaps lessons will be learned from the Rock Band row and the mark-up won't be too high.
The tracklist is said to include songs from Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, Korn, System of a Down, Ozzy Osbourne, Interpol, Muse and "dozens more".
Guitar Hero World Tour has already been confirmed for launch on PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii later this year. For more official details, check out our previous coverage.
At a "strategy level" Microsoft wants to be first to the market again with its next-generation Xbox, Entertainment & Device Devision boss Robbie Bach has said.
Speaking during an interview with Venture Beat, Bach said that if you asked him whether being first to market with Xbox 360 was the right decision, he'd say "definitely yes," and the platform holder has a desire to do it again with the next console.
"The last cycle for the original Xbox was a little shorter than typical (at four years). We started way late," he said. "If you take the question of whether it was the right thing to try to be first [with Xbox 360], the answer to that is definitely yes. It has given us a leg up in a number of places that are super important.
"It has given us a leg up with game developers. It has given us a leg up from an economics perspective. It helped us expand Xbox Live quickly. At a strategy level, if you asked if we wanted to be first again, I would say yes."
But the E&DD boss said it was "too early to tell" when quizzed on his expectation for the next console's release plans. "Our view is we will be selling Xbox 360 for a long time," he said.
"People ask me how many people I have working on the next generation. On the one hand, it's everybody. On the other, it's nobody. People are continuously working on new technology.
"We start thinking about the next generation before we shipped the Xbox 360," Bach continued. "It doesn't start with a date. It starts way upstream with silicon development.
"From that comes a series of data points. You start making early technology choices. It's an evolving thing. Stuff doesn't become concrete until you get inside a window of when you have to ship, more than 18 months or so out."
If we see anything before 2010, we'll be very surprised.
If you like your horrors dark and very gory, Siren looks like it'll be the game for you.
While Resident Evil 5 has action-orientated scenes of Chris Redfield exploding buses and spraying machine gun fire into swarms of zombie-beasts (or whatever they are), Siren looks like it simply wants to mess with your head.
"The horror-survival title is set in the Japanese village of Hanuda, where a TV crew from America arrive to research the legend of the Vanished Village where human sacrifice is said to have taken place thirty years ago," explains the official blurb.
Sony is to release parts of the game episodically via PSN, and we've been looking forward to it ever since Sony released this trailer.
Sega is getting ready to launch Beijing 2008 later this month, and they've just dropped new information and screens on the various track and field events available for play in the Olympic title. Six track events and eight field events make up the T&F portion of the game, with the races benefiting from a new analogue starting block mechanic involving the controller's trigger buttons. Players will be able to either button mash or stick-waggle to work up speed, intermittently leaping hurdles where applicable.
Meanwhile, on the field side of things, players can compete in the pole vault, high jump, triple jump, long jump, or my personal favorite events, the throws, with javelin, hammer, shot put, and discus all represented. Always been a big fan of throwing things. Just ask my borderline neurotic targets cats.
Beijing 2008 - The Official Video Game of the Olympic GamesTrack And Field Events, Screenshots and Details Available Now
LONDON (16 June, 2008) – SEGA Europe Ltd. proudly presents Beijing 2008™ - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games: Track and Field events.
Appearing on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and PC, Beijing 2008™ delivers a host of Track and Field events.
Of the six Track events, the 100m is the blue-riband event of the Olympic Games and is watched by millions of people worldwide. A new analogue starting block mechanic has been added to the gameplay using the trigger buttons on the controller. After launching out of the starting blocks, players will have the choice to either waggle the thumb stick from left to right, or press the A button and B button alternately to gain speed. Other track events are the 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m and the 110m Hurdles for Men and 100m Hurdles for Women.
There are eight Field events in Beijing 2008™ and new to this iteration is the Hammer Throw which is played with both analogue sticks to build up power, whilst using one of the triggers to throw the Hammer. Other Field events are the High Jump, Pole Vault, Long Jump, Shot Put, Triple Jump, Discus Throw, and the Javelin Throw. All of these events have different gameplay mechanics and are playable with both male and female athletes.
Beijing 2008™ is slated for a global release on June 27th 2008 for the Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and PC.
D3Publisher (D3P), a publisher and developer of interactive entertainment software, together with its parent D3, Inc., today announced a worldwide publishing agreement with the Universal Pictures Digital Platforms Group for videogames based on Focus Features and LAIKA Entertainment's Coraline, the upcoming high-definition stop-motion animated feature - the first to be originally filmed in 3-D. The newest movie from visionary director Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas), Coraline is based on Neil Gaiman's international best-selling book of the same title. The games are scheduled to be released for console and handheld systems in Q1 2009 to coincide with Focus' nationwide release of the movie on February 6, 2009.
"The alternative-reality based plot of Coraline translates exceptionally well to an interactive gaming adventure," said Yoji Takenaka, executive vice president and chief operating officer, North America and Europe, D3P. "We are enjoying working closely with the filmmakers and the team at Universal and Focus Features to authentically portray the film's unique cast of characters and allow players of all ages to experience not only key environments and moments from the movie, but also elements that go beyond the feature film."
"Coraline is a fantastically imagined world, filled with quirky characters and unexpected events, said Bill Kispert, VP and General Manager, Interactive, Universal Pictures Digital Platforms Group. "And with just the right blend of humor, adventure, and spookiness, it is the perfect source material for a truly unique adventure game."
Coraline (The Game) is a surrealistic adventure game that will enthrall gamers of all ages with its moody atmosphere, engaging narrative and cast of colorful characters. The console products are being developed by Papaya Studios, and the handheld products are being developed by ART.
The always-popular Electronic Entertainment Expo has returned to its roots this year, with the annual game show moving back to the Los Angeles Convention Center after a solo season on the sunny beaches of Santa Monica. Kicking off on July 14 and running through July 17, E3 2008 showcases several of the year's biggest software titles from the industry's biggest publishers. In addition, special tie-in events like Gamecock's BE-3 Initiative and Activision's offsite press conference will spotlight new software as well.
To help celebrate the festivities, we're starting our E3 coverage right here and now. Listed below is every videogame that has been "officially confirmed" to appear at the show and concurrent events happening at the same. Just remember not to go crazy if your most anticipated title isn't on the list -- after all, E3 is known for its surprises and secrets, not every company is going to let us know everything ahead of time. That means that our list will by no means be complete until the show starts. Regardless, this page will continue to be updated immediately whenever we can confirm additional titles.
For your easy navigation, we've provided links to every game listed should you want to use our watch-list system to keep and eye on your favorite titles, and we've even included a handy countdown clock so you know exactly how much time is left before the show happens. Titles added in the last 48 hours are marked with a handy-dandy "New" icon as well.
Oh, and before we forget. If you're a publisher and want us to add games to your list, send us a complete description to this email address and we'll take care of the rest.
Akella
Postal III (PC, X360) NEW
Bethesda Softworks
Fallout 3 (PC, PS3, X360)
Capcom
Bionic Commando (PC, PS3, X360)
Bionic Commando Rearmed (PC, PS3, X360)
Capcom Project #1 [untitled] (other)
Capcom Project #2 [untitled] (other)
Dark Void (PC, PS3, X360)
MotoGP 08 (other)
Neopets Puzzle Adventure (PC, Wii)
Plunder (PC, PS3, X360)
Resident Evil 5 (PS3, X360)
Spyborgs (Wii)
Street Fighter IV (PC, PS3, X360)
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (PS3, X360)
Crave Entertainment
Defendin' de Penguin (DS, Wii) NEW
Ford Racing Off Road (PS2, PSP, Wii) NEW
King of Clubs (Wii) NEW
PBR: Out of the Chute (PS2, Wii) NEW
Purr Pals (Wii) NEW
Solitaire & Mahjong (Wii) NEW
D3 Publisher
Bangai-O Spirits (DS)
Ben 10: Alien Force -- The Game (DS, PS2, PSP, Wii)
Naruto: Clash of The Ninja Revolution 2 (Wii)
Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2 (DS)
Puzzle Quest: Galactrix (DS, PC, X360)
Deep Silver
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky (PC)
Disney Interactive Studios
Disney Fairies: Tinker Bell (DS) NEW
High School Musical 3: Senior Year (DS) NEW
High School Musical 3: Senior Year Dance (PC, PS2, Wii, X360) NEW
Pure (PC, PS3, X360)
Spectrobes: Beyond The Portals (DS)
Ultimate Band (DS, Wii) NEW
Electronic Arts
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (PC, X360)
Crysis Warhead (PC)
Dead Space (PC, PS3, X360)
FaceBreaker (PS3, X360) NEW
FaceBreaker K.O. Party (Wii) NEW
Madden NFL 09 (PS3, X360) NEW
Madden NFL 09 All-Play (Wii) NEW
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (PC, PS3, X360)
Mirror's Edge (PC, PS3, X360)
NBA Live 09 (PS3, X360) NEW
NCAA Football 09 (PS3, X360) NEW
Skate It (Wii)
Spore (PC)
The Lord of the Rings: Conquest (PC, PS3, X360)
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 (PS3, PSP, X360) NEW
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 All-Play (Wii) NEW
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC)
Gamecock
Dungeon Hero (PC, X360) NEW
Legendary (PC, PS3, X360) NEW
Velvet Assassin (PC, X360) NEW
Microsoft
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (X360)
Fable 2 (X360)
Gears of War 2 (X360)
Halo Wars (X360)
Too Human (X360)
Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise (X360)
Midway Games
Blitz: The League II (PS3, X360)
Game Party 2 (Wii)
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (PS3, X360)
TNA iMPACT! (PS2, PS3, Wii, X360)
This is Vegas (PC, PS3, X360)
Touchmaster 2 (DS)
Unreal Tournament III (X360)
Wheelman (PC, PS3, X360)
Namco Bandai
Soulcalibur IV (PS3, X360)
Natsume
Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness (DS)
Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility (Wii)
Sony Computer Entertainment
Killzone 2 (PS3)
LittleBigPlanet (PS3)
MotorStorm: Pacific Rift (PS3)
PixelJunk Eden (PS3)
Resistance 2 (PS3)
SIREN: Blood Curse Episode #1 [PSN] (PS3)
SOCOM: Confrontation (PS3)
SouthPeak Interactive
B-Boy (PS2, PSP)
Big Bang Mini (DS)
Edge of Twilight (PC, PS3, X360)
Mister Slime (DS)
Monster Madness: Grave Danger (PS3)
Ninjatown (DS)
Two Worlds: The Temptation (PC, X360)
THQ
All-Star Cheer Squad (DS, Wii) NEW
Baja: Edge of Control (PS3, X360) NEW
Darksiders: Wrath of War (PS3, X360) NEW
Deadly Creatures (Wii) NEW
Red Faction: Guerrilla (PC, PS3, X360) NEW
Saints Row 2 (PC, PS3, X360) NEW
Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise (DS) NEW
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 (DS, PS3, Wii, X360) NEW
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II (PC) NEW
de Blob (Wii) NEW
Valve
Left 4 Dead (PC, X360)
Warner Bros. Interactive
LEGO Batman: The Videogame (DS, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, X360)
Project Origin (PC, PS3, X360)
XSEED Games
Little King's Story (Wii)
Valhalla Knights 2 (PSP)
An inside UK source tells us that Heavenly Sword 2 has been canned by Sony Computer Entertainment of Europe. The game was axed after months in development because it is no longer seen as commercially viable, our source tells us.
The news came during an emergency meeting set up for the Sony Cambridge team which was working on the game.
On a side note, Ninja Theory, who have already said they weren't working on the sequel to their Playstation 3 exclusive, have grown increasingly bitter about their treatment at Sony's hands, our source tells us. I'm told that the development studio, which once had offices in the same building as Sony Cambridge, have started packing up to move to a new location.
I guess when they said they wanted to move away from Sony and get into multi-platform development they weren't kidding.
If true, this marks the third major project, counting Eight Days and Getaway 3, that has been canned by SCEE. Is the Europe arm of Sony in trouble? No clue, but we've asked for comment.
Shuhei Yoshida, the man who recently replaced Phil Harrison as head of Sony Worldwide Studios, has conceded the PS3's been lagging behind when it comes to third-party software - until now.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz Yoshida admitted there was "disappointment" during launch year over the number of third-party games available. "I'm sure that third party publishers had planned to release their titles day-and-date with the launch of the PlayStation 3, or day-and-date with the launch of the title on the Xbox 360, but because the 360 hardware was out earlier, the games were built based on 360 architecture," he said.
"But still, they must have been planning, thinking they have enough time, to port the second game to PS3 and release at the same time with the same quality. So they massively underestimated the effort that was needed to re-architect the game to properly take advantage of the PS3's multi-core architecture."
Yoshida said Sony was "pretty happy" with the first-party titles that were released in launch year, even if they didn't all arrive on time. "But it's impossible to bring the level of support that we feel is important for the PlayStation 3 platform without the third parties' continued support," he went on. "That was the miscalculation by both us, and from third parties.
"But I think after the end of last year, there are more and more titles are coming out on the same day [as Xbox 360] and the same quality, and we can start to see some additional things on PS3 because of the space available on Blu-ray."
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Here is the Metal Gear Solid 4 tale of two regions. In Japan, Famitsu reports that MGS4 sold 476,334 copies in its first few days, becoming the best-selling PS3 game to date in the region. Snake also boosted sales of the PS3 itself, with Japanese sales hovering around the 10K mark; the console sold 77,208 for the week.
The UK tells a slightly different MGS4 sales tale. MGS4 is the second fastest-selling PS3 title behind Grand Theft Auto IV and was 14,000 short of MGS2's initial sales in 2002. Although the UK's Chart-Track apparently did not release actual numbers, the company's director did say that MGS4 had a "minimal impact" on hardware sales and that "there's not a lot to say about it."
Unless Sony or Konami sends out a release, we're not expecting US sales figures until NPD's June report releases sometime next month.
A new PLAYSTATION 3 firmware update (v2.36) will be launching soon, improving system stability when playing select PlayStation format software titles. We’re also happy to officially report that the 2.40 system software update for PS3 will include “XMB” access in-game. The update will also include “trophies,” an exciting new feature that we’ll be providing more details on soon, as well as some other new enhancements. We’ve talked about some of this on the blog previously and know that many of you can’t wait to get your hands on these features. You can expect us to share all of the official details shortly.
Despite going straight in at number one in the software charts and being the biggest PlayStation 3-exclusive release so far, Metal Gear Solid 4 has failed to prove a major driver of hardware in the UK, with Chart-Track revealing a "minimal" spike of seven percent over its opening weekend.
The UK sales monitor revealed last night that Konami's hugely anticipated blockbuster, which released worldwide last Thursday (June 12), has become the second fastest-selling PS3 title in the UK after Grand Theft Auto IV, and 14,000 short of the opening weekend figure recorded by Metal Gear Solid 2 on PS2 in 2002.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Chart-Track director Dorian Bloch played down the game's impact on hardware, revealing: "There's not a lot to say about it – it had minimal impact really. Units were up by seven percent."
But it was a different story for Nintendo, which launched three new flavours of DS - red, turqoise and green - across Europe last Friday (June 13).
"The new colours had a massive impact – sales were up hugely," said Bloch, who also broke down the performance of each model, adding: "Black is still the king, followed by red, pink, white, turqoise, green and silver." Black accounted for "more than a third" of DS sales. Chart-Track does not publish specific hardware sales figures.
In addition to the new colours, Nintendo also launched a new DS bundle featuring Brain Training, specifically targetting Father's Day gift buyers.
"Father's Day had quite a big impact on DS because there was a specific Father's Day pack available - which Nintendo also did for Mother's Day - which was quite important," Bloch noted. "DS is still going some, basically."
The UK sales monitor further revealed that Brain Training has spent a massive 74 weeks in the all formats top 10 – just five weeks short of current record holder, the original Tomb Raider.
Posting over at NeoGAF, a Ninja Theory staffer has responded to the Kotaku rumour concerning the cancellation of Heavenly Sword 2.
]We (Ninja Theory) never started work on HS2 as we wanted to focus on new multiplatform IP. Sony owns the IP for HS and we have never been privy to what they would do with it.
As for moving, we have been planning to move to larger premises for future expansion for the best part of a year. There is nothing bitter about the move.
And the rumour that the team has been disbanded is ridiculous. We have had an unbelievably loyal team especially as we went through some difficult times securing a new publishing deal. We have a new publisher and are busy on our new project which is going very well so far.
Notice how no-one mentions 'hardcore gamers' anymore in the press releases? Well you're not the only one. Consider it a 're-adjustment' on the part of the PR sector of the games industry.
So if you're reading up on all the coverage about E3 next month, and the phrase core-gamer keeps cropping up where hardcore used to lie, well lets just say they hope you don't think too much of it. Funny thing is, the term core-gamer is about as well defined as hardcore gamer, as in, not at all.
GAME has announced the results of its recent online poll to determine the best 100 games of all time, with Call of Duty 4 beating out the opposition to take top spot.
It was followed by The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in second, Final Fantasy VII in third, Grand Theft Auto IV in fourth and Super Mario 64 in fifth place.
The results also pointed to Mario as the greatest gaming icon of all time, with 11 per cent of titles containing Nintendo's plumber, while the PlayStation 2 was crowned "Most Popular Console" with 10 per cent of all titles in the top 100 being exclusive on that platform.
Meanwhile the highest-ranked film tie-ins involved James Bond - GoldenEye was in sixth place overall - and Star Wars, with two titles in the list.
Over 100,000 votes were cast in the vote, which was open to anybody visiting the game.co.uk website, with the Final Fantasy franchise listed as the most popular gaming series, and RPGs the most popular type of game.
The top ten titles were as follows:
1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
3. Final Fantasy VII
4. Grand Theft Auto IV
5. Super Mario 64
6. GoldenEye
7. Halo 3
8. Metal Gear Solid
9. Half-Life 2
10. Gears of War
There was a time in the development cycle of Grand Theft Auto IV that Niko Bellic had a cell phone that could play music, MTV Multiplayer reports, but the option was cut.
“Some people on the team didn’t like the music/mobile phone idea for various reasons, but they went back and forth on the idea until the very end,” Rockstar spokesperson Darlan Monterisi explained in an e-mail on Tuesday. “This is VERY common. We do it in every game we make. We still prefer the balance of music in car and the ambient world’s noise on foot, but we are constantly reviewing this stuff.”
I wonder how much having a mini-stereo with you at all times would have changed the experience? It must have been something that the Rockstar folks thought would have had quite an impact to remove it. Why else would they cut the thing entirely instead of allowing gamers to go out and buy a phone with the feature in game?
Actually, I'm still surprised at the limit of phone tech in the game. I was expecting that the phone, because it plays such an important role in the game's interface, would come in a lot more flavors and that at least one of the was going to support video capture. Maybe next time.
On August 2nd and August 3rd, Square Enix is holding a "private party" with the utterly ridiculous name DKΣ3713 that will be limited to only 2,400 attendees, picked by raffle through the Japanese Square Enix Members website.. It will showcase Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts games. And just like we thought, Final Fantasy XIII will not be playable. Hit the jump for the full rundown of what will be there and what form it will be in. Bring on the disappointments!
KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep(PSP)Trailer/Playable Demo
DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY(PSP)Trailer/Playable Demo
The 3rd Birthday(Mobile)Trailer
Sigma Harmonics(DS)Trailer/Playable Demo
FINAL FANTASY VII ADVENT CHILDREN COMPLETE(Movie/Blu-ray)Trailer
Best part? Knowing how Square Enix rolls, photograph of the demo trailers will be strictly prohibited, and the trailers for the big titles will mostly likely be shown in "closed theaters." So! If you want to see them, be prepared to wait in line for like an hour. Make sure you bring your memory cap so you don't forget the experience! Does Square Enix know how to party or does Square Enix know how to party.
Iconic game designer Warren Spector has said he believes lengthy adventure games are "on the way out".
The Deus Ex creator, who now heads Junction Point Studios for Disney, believes game designers need to work out how to meet a new generation of demands.
"I love working with Disney because I'm so tired of making games about guys in black leather carrying guns. I don't want to make those any more," Spector told Gamasutra.
"Building a game is as complex as making as a Hollywood movie. We are in a business that is both software engineer and entertainment, and we have to balance it. It used to be that you could trade off gameplay for graphics, but you can't do that any more.
"100-hour games are on the way out. How many of you have finished GTA? Two per cent, probably. If we're spending USD 100 million on a game, we want you to see the last level!" he added.
However, casual games have their own set of problems, according to Spector, who said, "If you don't make it on the front page, you don't get your game seen."
Spector has yet to put his name to a project since Ion Storm (Deus Ex series, Thief: Deadly Shadows) was closed by Eidos in 2004.
All we've heard of his Junction Point project is a teaser quote from the man on the studio website:
"When we do announce what we're doing, half the world's going to think we're crazy and half the world's going to think it's the coolest thing since sliced bread - how great is that?!"
Read to the full interview to find out what sort of people Spector wants to hire to help him. You'll need to love "chaos" and "change", apparently.
Hi all – Firstly, we’d like to thank you for helping us make the launch of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots a tremendous success, with a special thanks to the many of you who attended our midnight launches to support it. It was great to meet so many of you in person, and the some of the MGS related costumes were truly spectacular. We had a lot of fun, and we hope you did too.
Of course, the launch of MGS4 is just the beginning – with it now in your hands, surely you are finding that there is much to discover within the game itself. It’s packed with so much, in fact, that there is bound to be new revelations, strategies, and details in the coming months as everyone makes their way through every nook and cranny. Add in Metal Gear Online, with its endless and deep multiplayer game play, as well as new downloadable content forthcoming - there is truly so much more to come, with our continued support of MGS, that will extend well through this year.
With that, we are happy to reveal a very special surprise, upon the PLAYSTATION Store update tomorrow (Thursday June 19th) we will be releasing the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Database!
The MGS4 Database is a free, downloadable interactive application that contains the official knowledge base of everything that is Metal Gear, reaching all the way back to the very beginning of the franchise. Including complete storylines, character profiles, relationship diagrams, and much more! The MGS4 database is a great way to catch up for someone new to Metal Gear, as well as a useful resource for any veteran of the series, with complete official details on every aspect of the intricate Metal gear lore.
The MGS4 Database also contains a special feature – if you want to make use of the database, but have not yet fully played through MGS4 yet and are worried about spoilers – all MGS4 spoilers are “blacked out” until you’ve beaten MGS4. Give it a try!
But that’s not all, within MGS4, check out the EXTRAS option of the main menu (if you haven’t already). There’s already new, free downloadable content available for the game - with new camouflage and a new music track for the in game iPod. There will be more forthcoming, so be sure to check this often!
To no one's surprise, EA is set to release the next installment in the Need for Speed franchise later this year in the form of Need for Speed: Undercover. In an interview with gamesindustry.biz, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello said that the title is in development from one of EA Vancouver's two NFS teams. He also hinted that its inspiration comes from movies like The Transporter, though we'll have to wait and see what he means by that.
The single previous Need for Speed team was split into two last year to allow each of the two teams more time to create yearly updates for the franchise. Rather than giving one team only 12 months to create the next installment, each team would now have a full two years, with the teams trading release years, obviously. Being that the team was only split last year, the Undercover team will only have a little over 16 months to create the title, but the extra breathing room must certainly welcome in any case.
In the interview, Riccitiello also discussed his disappointment with last year's Need for Speed ProStreet, and said that the reason for splitting the team into to two was to help insure that future titles would actually be a worthy experience.
No consoles were specified for Undercover, but given the franchise's history, we'd expect to see it hit every major system.
Square Enix has rubbished suggestions that Final Fantasy Versus XIII is on hold.
"Reports that development for Final Fantasy Versus XIII is on hold are false," the publisher said in a statement passed on to Eurogamer.
"The truth of the situation is that when free, some staff from the Versus team have been helping with the XIII team on development of Final Fantasy XIII. Development for both titles is continuing as originally scheduled."
That rather significantly contradicts translations of game director Tetsuya Nomura's comments in a Famitsu article, where he reportedly used the words "on hold" and said "the entire Versus team is helping to finish Final Fantasy XIII".
Along with Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Agito XIII, Versus makes up a three-game "compilation" of titles marking the next, and next-generation, step forward in the famous Square RPG series.
Not much is really known about it other than what's been seen in trailers, but Nomura has previously evoked Kingdom Hearts when searching for comparisons. Speaking to Eurogamer last May, Nomura said it would "examine the humanity of the characters in this game" and distinguish itself from the FF games' traditional fantasy worlds.
"In Versus I'm trying to propose new vision of how a Final Fantasy game can be. The game's going to be more human than the science-fiction caricature we so often see. It will focus around current world events - in that sense it's darker," he explained at the time.
It's also still happily in development, or so Square Enix says, despite the inevitable bias towards getting FF XIII - a banner game for both its publisher and platform holder Sony - out of the door as quickly as possible. Hopefully we'll hear more about its progress at E3.
Metal Gear Solid 4 sold over 465,000 copies in its first week on sale in Japan, putting Konami at the top of the Japanese software chart.
That works out at nearly 12 times more than its closest competitor Mario Kart Wii with 38,000 sales, according to Media Create data for the week ending 15th June.
The effect Metal Gear Solid 4 has had on PS3 sales is still unknown, although Japanese magazine Famitsu has reportedly put its early estimation at around 70,000 hardware units sold.
Sony managed to shift 10,856 PS3 consoles in the week leading up to the game's launch
Full figures are expected tomorrow and, if those early predictions turn out to be true, it will be a vastly different story to the UK where MGS4 had only a "minimal impact" on PS3 hardware sales in Chart-Track's phrase.
The rest of the software chart saw Nintendo best-sellers Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit take two and three, with the early success of Konami's PSP baseball outing, Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball Portable 3, fading to four.
Capcom followed with its PSP unit-shifter Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G at five, with D3Publisher entering the chart with a DS Pachinko offering at six.
Namco Bandai fighter Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit continued to sell well on PS3 to take seven, ahead of Nintendo's Beautiful Letter Training for DS at eight.
Rounding out the chart were Tecmo's Kyoto Murder Files for DS at nine, and SEGA with Mysterious Dungeon 3 on Wii at 10.
The top 40 was made up of 15 games on DS, nine on Wii, three on PSP, two on PS3 and one on PS2.
Metal Gear Solid 4 Guns of the Patriots (Konami, PS3) - 465,000
Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo, Wii) - 38,000 (lifetime: 1,444,000)
Wii Fit (Nintendo, Wii) - 37,000 (lifetime: 2,227,000)
Sony has updated the European PS3 Store but there is no Metal Gear Solid 4 Database in sight.
So, those of you after an encyclopedic knowledge of the game will have to grab it from the US Store instead.
While there you may also like to grab a free PAIN title update, and the revamped PS3 version of Fatal Inertia (USD 29.99), which is accompanied by a free trial version.
Europeans, on the other hand, have been treated to demos of Civilization Revolution, which is rather good, plus one for Dark Sector, not so much.
According to NeoGAF (and a member who spent an awful lot of time over their post) there's also a swathe of extra bits to stick onto your games.
There's that Coldplay bundle for Guitar Hero III (GBP 3.99), and Oceania Resort course for Everybody's Golf: World Tour (GBP 2.99) and the pair of Warhawk expansions in one handy pack (GBP 4.99). Plus a little free add-on for High Stakes Poker.
A big change in ranking have occurred for console sales in Japan as follows:
Playstation 3: 75,311
Playstation Portable: 64,675
Nintendo Wii: 45,564
Nintendo DS Lite : 39,201
Playstation 2: 7,297
Xbox 360 : 2,163
For the first time ever, the Playstation 3 tops the list, increased highly by roughly 64,500 units, most probably fuelled by the release of Meta Gear Solid 4. PSP is second, up 2,600. 3rd place is the Wii, up 900 or so. Next is the DS Lite, up 4,000. PS2 is 5th, up 1,000 and Xbox 360 is last in line as usual, down 117.
For some people, Metal Gear Online is a nice extra that comes on the same disc as Metal Gear Solid 4. For others – which we refrain from calling crazy – MGO is actually more exciting to them than Kojima's blockbuster single-player game.
For those weirdos gamers who fall into the strictly MGO camp, Konami has announced plans to make the online multiplayer game based on MGS available as its own, stand-alone product ... in Japan. The disc will set buyers back $17 and be content-identical to the client that comes on MGS4's biggie-sized 50GB Blu-ray disc. MGO is set to receieve a number of gameplay and content updates in the coming months, including new characters, items, and maps.
We've contacted Konami for any word – good or bad – on the stand-alone MGO's prospects of coming Stateside via PSN or other delivery methods. No word back yet, but we wouldn't count a PSN release out.
BioWare is is "looking into" making games for Wii and PSP in order to offer a wider array of titles.
"We're looking into Wii and PSP as a company... but nothing has been decided, and nothing has been announced. And we are, from styles of games - we are trying to broaden our portfolio," Mark Darrah, project lead for Sonic Chronicles, told Gamasutra.
He revealed the DS role-playing project had swollen to around 30 staff at one point, but despite the help and scale it had remained a frustrating platform to develop for.
"I mean, the hardware is challenging for someone who's done console or PC development, just because it's got four megabytes of memory, and it's very much hardware from - if you compare it to a PC, it's like hardware from 14 years ago."
Traditionally, BioWare has been a PC developer, but it moved onto Xbox with Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire, before creating Xbox 360 epic Mass Effect.
It was also bought by mega-publisher EA last October.
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood will be its first DS game when it comes out September.
Pop over to our hands-on with Sonic Chronicles to see what BioWare has done with the Sega mascot.
Disney is planning a videogame version of the upcoming animated feature Bolt, which tells the story of a heroic dog's cross-country journey.
Gamers will play as the TV star dog, Bolt, and his owner, Penny, from the action TV series featured in the film. As Bolt, players can use his superpowers, including laser vision and his superbark, which sends out a sonic blast to devastate opponents. As Penny, players use stealth, hacking skills and a wheelbar, inspired by her scooter seen in the movie, to outwit enemies.
Bolt will be available for the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360 video, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and PC and is scheduled for a November 2008 release.
On Wednesday, PlayStation Lifestyle posted up a rumor that Microsoft was supposedly gunning for a timed Xbox 360 exclusive, to be paid for in cash money and announced at E3. Following an understandable uproar on the part of PlayStation fans, Capcom has set the record straight via their official message forums.
In fact, said record-straightening was done by Christian Svensson, Capcom's VP of strategic planning and business development, who wrote: "The assertion is false. RE5 is a multiplatform release that fits with our oft-stated crossplatform strategy." In the same thread, Svensson confirms "for the avoidance of doubt" that the game will be a simultaneous release on both platforms. Thanks for being so quick with the extinguisher on this one, Sven.
Welcome to this week's Games Update, our weekly summary featuring all new product arrivals from the last seven days.
Games are coming out in torrents after the release of the grand finale of the Metal Gear Solid series, and these releases include games of all sorts of genres.
Summer holidays are about partying and family fun for a lot of people. Nintendo therefore published their newest sports game Super Mario Stadium: Family Baseball, a game suitable for all ages and all occasions. Besides sports games, the puzzle Puyo Puyo! is another game suitable for families gatherings and all sorts of parties.
As a new special priced version, Puyo Puyo! is not only a a perfect addition to your collection of games, but also a nice way to save some cash.
Likewise, Atlus re-released their thrilling mythical RPG Odin Sphere as a best priced version, so for those who did not manange to to grab the last edition, be sure to get your hands on them this time round.
The revival and upgrade of old games are good buys, just in case you have trouble making out your mind. Since the gaming industry is fast paced and competitive, only the best games get revivals. Super Robot Taisen A [Asian, JPN], is a good example, first released in 2001, it is re-released 7 years later on Sony PSP, powered up, with lots of new features.
A lot of people go travelling in the summer, to make your hours of plane, train or even bus journeys more exciting, a number of new games are released on portable consoles such as Spectral Force Genesis [limited and standard editions]. Think about unifying the world as you travel abroad.
The far east is a good place to travel in your summer holidays, but travelling back time to ancient Japan is an even rarer experience. The Harukanaru Jikuu no Ka de (Harukanaru toki no naka de) series has always taken their players back time to either the Heian or Kamakura period. But this time, in the fourth installment, you travel even further back to the era of the gods and myths.
Aside from games, Square-Enix has published their third book in the Final Fantasy Ultimania series. This time, the book will focus on battle systems and monsters as well as magic.
As usually, here's a summary of all new releases from this week, followed by a quick preview of what is expected to be hot next week.
Xbox360™:
Don King Presents Prize Fighter US US$ 64.90
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit US US$ 64.90
FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage JPN US$ 64.90
Kung Fu Panda ASIA US$ 49.90
NASCAR 09 US US$ 64.90
PlayStation3™:
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit US US$ 64.90
NASCAR 09 US US$ 64.90
Nintendo Wii™:
Backyard Baseball 2009 US US$ 44.90
Blast Works: Build, Fuse & Destroy US US$ 44.90
Harukanaru Jikuu no Kade 4 JPN US$ 64.90
Puyo Puyo! (Special Price) JPN US$ 29.90
Super Mario Stadium: Family Baseball JPN US$ 59.90
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian JPN US$ 59.90
Nintendo DS™:
Dokusho Shitendo DS: Genji Monogatari + Chottodake Bungaku JPN US$ 39.90
Dokusho Shitendo DS: Hanshichi & Yuumon & Ango + Ago & Hatamoto Taikutsu Otoko JPN US$ 39.90
Gakken Mainichi no Drill DS: Mesaze! Miracle Shougaku 1 Nensei JPN US$ 39.90
Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles US US$ 24.90
Looney Tunes: Cartoon Conductor US US$ 24.90
My Fashion Studio US US$ 34.90
Nippon Shuzan Renmei Kanshuu: Itsudemo Soroban DS JPN US$ 39.90
Ohimesama Debut JPN US$ 48.90
Puyo Puyo! (Special Price) JPN US$ 29.90
Soul Bubbles ASIA N/A
Spectral Force Genesis JPN US$ 48.90
Spectral Force Genesis [Limited Edition] JPN US$ 69.90
Watashi no Pony JPN US$ 39.90
Nintendo DS Accessories™:
Game Card Case 6 (Black) US US$ 5.99
Game Card Case 6 (Clear) US US$ 5.99
Game Card Case 6 (Pink) US US$ 5.99
Sony PSP™:
Puyo Puyo! (Special Price) JPN US$ 29.90
Secret Agent Clank ASIA US$ 39.90
Super Robot Taisen A Portable ASIA US$ 59.90
The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 31.90
World Championship Cards US US$ 24.90
Sony PSP™ Accessories:
Full Protection Filter JPN US$ 9.90
PSP Headset with Remote JPN US$ 39.90
Super Robot Taisen A Portable Accessories Set JPN US$ 29.90
PC Games
Mass Effect (DVD-ROM) ASIA US$ 39.90
Video Game related Books
Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Ultimania File 3: Battle JPN US$ 29.90
Video Game related Soundtracks
Made Hajimemashita Goshujinsama No Osewa Itashimasu Drama CD JPN US$ 29.90
Radio DJCD Naruto Radio Shippujinrai 3 JPN US$ 24.90
The Idolm@ster Master Live 04 JPN US$ 19.90
A separate Video/Music update containing Japanese releases from this week, including new Anime, J-Pop and Movie releases will follow prior end of the week. So J-Pop, Anime and Movie fans, be sure to look out for that one!
A lot of releases are expected next week, with a lot of hits such as:
Xbox360™:
Battlefield: Bad Company ASIA US$ 44.90
Battlefield: Bad Company Gold Edition ASIA US$ 49.90
Mobile Suit Gundam: Operation: Troy ASIA US$ 49.90
Mobile Suit Gundam: Operation: Troy JPN US$ 68.90
PlayStation3™:
Battlefield: Bad Company ASIA US$ 49.90
Battlefield: Bad Company Gold Edition ASIA US$ 54.90
Nintendo Wii™:
Tales of Symphonia: Knight of Ratatosk JPN US$ 64.90
PlayStation2™:
Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ (Ultimate Hits) JPN US$ 34.90
Sengoku Basara X JPN US$ 62.90
Sengoku Basara X [Limited Edition] JPN US$ 79.90
Sunsoft Collection JPN US$ 49.90
The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match JPN US$ 49.90
Nintendo DS™:
Arkanoid DS US US$ 24.90
Bleach: The 3rd Phantom JPN US$ 48.90
Daigasso! Band Brothers DX JPN US$ 48.90
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness JPN US$ 48.90
Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard US US$ 34.90
Space Invaders Extreme US US$ 24.90
Assembly (~Chang Han Yu, Tan Chaio, ...) HK US$ 27.90
Be Kind Rewind (~Jack Black, Mos Def, ...) US US$ 35.99
Fool's Gold (~Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson, ...) US US$ 35.99
Men in Black (~Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, ...) US US$ 28.95
Perhaps Love (~Kaneshiro Takeshi, Jacky Cheung, ...) HK US$ 27.90
So I Married an Axe Murderer (~Mike Myers, Nancy Travis, ...) US US$ 28.95
Tsuki Shukai Eisei Kaguya Ga Mita Tsuki To Chikyu Tsuki No De Soshite Chikyu No Iri JPN US$ 46.90
features
Unlimited Destruction: Become the Incredible Hulk and experience unlimited destruction. Players can demolish anything in their path and also use it as a weapon – pieces of a crumbling building…a passing car…a light standard.
Powerful Rage: Rage is power. Build the Hulk’s rage to learn powerful moves. Cause unheard-of damage to gain and upgrade his abilities.
Incredible Scale: New York City’s towering skyscrapers allow for exciting vertically based gameplay, while powerful, massive enemies such as Bi-Beast and the Abomination challenge the Hulk’s might.
Dynamic Open World: A realistic next-gen, open-world representation of Manhattan provides gamers with an immense playground of destruction that also contains sub-quests, minigames, and a story that reaches beyond the film to include elements from classic Marvel comics.
description
One of Marvel®’s most powerful Super Heroes® unleashes epic destruction this June in Marvel Studios’ blockbuster movie, The Incredible Hulk. Along with the film, SEGA® releases an intensely realistic third-person action video game available on all major video-game platforms.
Fueled with fury, SEGA’s The Incredible Hulk features key moments from the film, as well as additional plotlines and characters from the character’s rich comic-book universe. Players smash through New York City, battling gigantic enemies amidst soaring skyscrapers in a massive open world.
As one of the most anticipated entertainment events of 2008, The Incredible Hulk will have fans lining up this summer on both the big and small screens.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the Earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination.
Dragonball Z: Burst Limit is the first game of the Dragonball Z series to hit the next generation consoles, the PLAYSTATION3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360. The game features detailed graphics and dramatic, seamless battles, expected from a next generation console. The plans are to have characters and movement reminiscent of the animation, and high-intensity battles. During each battle, find conditions to create new dramatic scenes. After the battles, watch a unique story unfold each time you play. There is also a stronger element of offense and defense, due to added energy saving and fighting techniques.
Developed by Harmonix, creators of the blockbuster Guitar Hero franchise, Rock Band is an all-new platform for gamers to experience music, giving players the chance to rock in the shoes of the biggest guitarists, bassists, drummers and singers of all time ?as a solo superstar or as part of a hard rocking band. Rock Band delivers four music games in one ?challenging rockers to master lead guitar, bass guitar, drums and vocals. Built on unprecedented deals with top record labels and music publishers, the music featured in Rock Band spans all genres of rock and includes many master recordings from legendary artists.
Rock Band US version(X1)
Wireless Guitar(x1)
drum(x1)
microphone(x1)
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the Earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination.
The Simpsons Game features a hilarious, sprawling, and mind-busting storyline crafted by the TV show's Emmy Award-winning writers. For this action-comedy, the full cast of voice actors from the TV show and movie reprise their roles to lend the ultimate in authenticity and realism to the game. In The Simpsons Game, Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa use exciting, all-new powers to save Springfield from rising chaos. To help the Simpsons, gamers must journey through their home town (as well as vast worlds beyond!), vanquish an amazing array of villains, and fight their way through parodies of multiple popular games.
Back in February we spotted a rumor that a GTA movie starring Eminem almost happened. It was knocked down the same day by Rockstar's Dan Houser, who said "we never entertained proceeding with the project." Maybe the story pitch was crap, but even if it wasn't, now we know at least one reason why.
LA Weekly's Nikkie FInke reports on her blog that a settlement prohibits Rockstar from making a movie based on Grand Theft Auto, which is the same name as a 1977 film whose rights are owned by Fox. The settlement also prohibits Fox from making any video game based on that movie. I've never seen it, but considering all the crappy adaptations done out there, obviously this settlement was more about protecting Fox's copyrights than Rockstar's.
Interestingly, the Grand Theft Auto film in question got an updated box right around the time the original GTA craze hit (above), and you can see the similarities in the typefaces. Not sure if this was part [or provocation] of the settlement or not.
How it works: We ask a question, you answer it. Simple and no strings attached! This isn't some marketing survey or whatever. It's an emotional investment in you. Yes, we're interested in knowing you, Kotaku reader person. You probably know ****tons about us — more than you even want to, we're sure. But, hey, we'd like to know about you. That way you won't be some faceless blob — and we might feel a tinge of guilt when we ban your ass. Or not, because really we're incapable of human emotion. Whatever!
Question: Do you have a favorite current gen console? If so, what?
A new survey by consumer research firm Experian has found that PlayStation 3 owners skew the oldest of all three consoles - with appeal at its highest levels to those 44 and older, also tracking low gamer activity in... needlework and antiques shopping?
The survey found that on a scale that found the Wii easily outranking the other two consoles amongst the 18-24 year olds but declining steadily as the age range grew higher, Xbox 360 ranked best with 35-44 year olds, with the PS3 showing a marked jump with the next-older group.
In a post regarding PSP themes, a user named “Stunt” asked to be updated on some 2.40 info. Noel’s response can be read right underneath Stunt’s question.
Stunt | June 20th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Noel, my friend, do you know when we will be updated on the v2.40 update Eric Lempel mentioned in the v2.36 post? I hope we don’t have to wait until next week.
Thanks!
Noel Silvia replied on June 21, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Eric’s working hard to get everything set for the launch of Firmware 2.40, including a video walkthrough.
I can’t comment on when (as I don’t know the exactly date!), but I’m just as excited as all of you for it.
Trophy Support + In-Game Messaging FTW!
____
Let’s go on a run-down on what this little comment actually confirms.
“Eric’s working hard to get everything set for the launch of Firmware 2.40″ - This means that 2.40 is completed because he says that Eric is getting everything set for the launch of 2.40, which means the firmware itself is done and complete, they just need to get everything ready (Checklist, video walkthrough, uploading to the PSN, setting servers for new firmware, etc.,). Especially for an update this important they want to make this update error-free.
“…including a video walkthrough.” This means that they probably already have 2.40 installed on a Retail PLAYSTATION3 system…which also implies that 2.40 is actually complete. It also means that everything is ready and successful and all kinks are worked out. To top it all off, it means that we’re going to see the real Official Firmware in-action for the first time, including a possible list of games that support trophies and a glance at In-game XMB.
“Trophy Support + In-Game Messaging FTW!” Yikes, what does this mean. It may mean a lot of head ache for Sony, or it could just mean that’s Noel Silvia’s most important features. A lot of people really want In-Game Music…and if those are the only features in 2.40 and no in-game Music, Sony’s really going to hear it. Although, personally I would be just fine with the Universal Friends list, In-Game Messaging.
With all eyes on the great and the good of European football duking it out in Austria and Switzerland, Konami has wisely seized upon the moment by announcing Pro Evolution 2009, as well as releasing a handful of shots.
As Electronic Art's FIFA games continue to make strides towards the football crown, its make or break time for Konami's once all-conquering series in the first truly bespoke title for next-generation consoles. It's hard to read too much into the images – other than it has some of the most pleasant looking grass we've seen in a football game to date. Take that, EA.
"PES 2009 looks set to reaffirm the series' utter superiority," said Pro Evolution's Project Leader Jon Murphy. "We are committed to extending the realism of the new game with a wealth of key gameplay additions, and will produce a football title that truly embodies all the skill and pace that is good about the modern game."
It kicks off on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, alongside lo-def version on PlayStation 2 and PSP this Autumn.
PlayStation 3 owners are among the oldest for this generation of consoles, according to a consumer survey conducted by Experian.
The PS3 was found to have it highest level of appeal to 44 year-olds and above, while Microsoft's Xbox 360 appealed to the younger 35 - 44 crowd.
The survey also found the Wii outranking either of the other consoles amongst the 18-24 year olds but its popularity declined steadily as the age ranges grew higher.
Konami has confirmed European gamers will get access to the Metal Gear Solid 4 database after all - and there's not long to wait.
As previously reported, the database is packed with info about the game and its predecessors.
Until now only those with US PSN accounts have been given access, but it'll be available on the European PSN Store from June 26th - that's Thursday in the old money. And it's all free and everything.
While most of us are still sitting through those huge Metal Gear 4 cut scenes, words has arisen from MGS4 producer Ryan Payton that Metal Gear Solid 5 may be a prequel.
In an interview with 1up Payton explained: "There are some misunderstandings that this is the final Metal Gear game. But it's really the final chapter of the Solid Snake story. That's all."
Encouraging news for fans, both new and old we would have thought. Although did you really think we'd never see another MGS game, Kojima or no Kojima?
Payton continued, "I'm happy we could wrap up Snake's story in MGS4. If we continue on with Metal Gear Solid 5 with more Solid Snake adventures, we'll get to the point where the game has absolutely no basis in reality.. He's had four or five really big missions, and that seems a little more realistic to me."
Eidos has confirmed the latest instalment in the Tomb Raider series will be released in November.
That's according to the brand new Tomb Raider: Underworld website, which is packed with podcasts, developer diaries and screenshots. Highlight: a picture of Lara fighting a shark.
Tomb Raider: Underworld sees ol' bigtits exploring the junglist massive of Mexico and probably ending up in some kind of, you know, underworld. The game is in development for Xbox 360, PC, PS2, PS3, Wii and DS. There's more info in our preview.
The very first trailer for Call of Duty 5 is now showing on Eurogamer TV.
The game is being developed by Treyarch and is subtitled World at War. It's said to offer a gritty, mature portrayal of events during the Second World War. Early teasers show a prisoner of war being tortured and having his throat cut, while your character looks on and waits his turn for the same treatment.
It'll be the first COD game to feature co-op action. Two players can team up on split-screen, while up to four can enjoy online co-op. Vehicles will play an important role and you can expect the return of squad-based multiplayer, plus the option to say real army phrases into your headset.
Treyarch has sensibly used the Call of Duty 4 engine as a foundation to build on. There will be more destructible environments where you can shoot holes in wood then climb through them and set fire to things.
Call of Duty: World at War is coming to PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 sometime before April next year.
Nearly two months after dragging reviewers out of their parent's cars and beating perfect 10s out of them, Rockstar has released a patch for Grand Theft Auto 4 targeting both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms. This patch notably addresses the oft-heard early complaints of "multiplayer connectivity issues" and "freezes during certain modes." There's a full list of 11 total fixes so, if you've been having trouble getting things done in Liberty City, Rockstar wants to offer you an apology and recommends taking this patch out for a test drive.
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures - which ended GTA IV's run at the top of the charts only to drop to second place with the release of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - has now retaken the number one position.
According to UK sales data released by Chart-Track, MGS4 sales fell 59 per cent while Lego Indiana Jones sales dropped just 29 per cent from the prior week.
Newcomer Alone in the Dark debuts in third place with less than half the sales of MGS4. Another new entry - Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII - debuted at number ten and accounted for 54 per cent of all full price PSP games sold last week.
Grand Theft Auto IV drops one place to number four while Wii Play, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games and Brain Training maintain their chart presence.
The Top Ten best-selling titles in the UK for the week ending June 21 were:
1 Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
2 Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
3 Alone in the Dark
4 Grand Theft Auto IV
5 Wii Play
6 Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
7 Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training
8 Race Driver: GRID
9 Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
10 Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
The results are in for the DCEmu Games Reviews Contest! Winners were voted based on their contribution and reviews that they submitted and each will be receiving a iTouchDS. Without further ado, the winners are (in no particular order)... *drumroll*
DimensionT
Joe88
Shadowblind
Triv1um
Congratulations!
Although originally, I said there were going to be 4 winners. I felt that another person deserved to win thanks to his contributions and because there were two reviewers with 7 votes, I still feel he's the 4th winner. So instead of 4 people, I'm going to give a 5th person a prize as well. So lets congratulate fg-54 on winning as well.
features
Cinematic single-player experience: A deep campaign loaded with attitude follows a wayward band of ordinary soldiers who risk it all on a quest for personal gain.
War your way: Battlefield: Bad Company environments are nearly 100 percent destructible, meaning that any structure can be demolished down to its foundation
New vehicles, weapons, and toys: Whether on land, air, or sea, there are dozens of new tools waiting for your explosive experimentation
Genre-defining multiplayer: Support is provided for 24 players online in an all new game mode, Gold Rush
description
Set in the near future, the Battlefield: Bad Company single-player campaign drops gamers into a dramatic Eurasian conflict. As part of a squad of four soldiers, players risk it all to go AWOL on a personal quest, fighting their own war within the war. Featuring a dramatic storyline flavored with attitude, Battlefield: Bad Company leads gamers far from the traditional frontlines on a wild ride with a group of renegade soldiers who decide that sometimes the gratitude of a nation just isn’t enough.
The Battlefield: Bad Company cinematic single-player experience captures the freedom and intensity of the franchise’s legendary multiplayer sandbox gameplay in a dynamic world where nearly everything is destructible. Gamers have total freedom to be daring and innovative, adapting to and tackling challenges in unexpected “Battlefield-style” ways. Create sniping positions by blowing out a piece of a wall or drive your tank straight through a small house. The ever-changing battlefield forces players, their teammates and enemies to react accordingly.
The game also features a full suite of the franchise’s trademark multiplayer gameplay, supporting 24 players online.
Battlefield: Bad Company is the first game built from the ground up for next-generation consoles using DICE’s bleeding-edge Frostbite™ game engine, delivering unrivaled graphics, effects and gameplay.
Race, fly and shoot as you take futuristic robots WALL-E and EVE through a fast-paced adventure.
From the desolate waste-lands of Earth to the Axiom space cruiser, throw cubes and blast robots and obstacles while you relive some of the movie’s most thrilling moments and explore worlds filled with non-stop action and adventure, along with head-to-head multiplayer challenges.
Dodge dangerous enemies, carry out intense missions and navigate your way through a futuristic galaxy!
The Blockbuster turned platform game Wall-E is available on these consoles:
House of Fury (~Gillian Chung, Stephen Fung, ...) US US$ 29.95
Over Alaska US US$ 19.99
Persepolis (~Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, ...) US US$ 38.96
Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure US US$ 28.99
Step Into Liquid [dts] (~Jim Knost, Alex Knost, ...) US US$ 29.99
The Spiderwick Chronicles (~Freddie Highmore, Mary-Louise Parker, ...) US US$ 39.99
Washington the Beautiful US US$ 19.99
10,000 B.C. US$ 35.99 only.
features
Screen hints, tactics, tips and onscreen-mini map are included making it easier to navigate around the wold of the Overlord
Explore and conquer 5 extra supernatural realms
Defend the Overlord's tower against waves of enemy attack with seven additional online multiplayer maps
description
Overlord Raising Hell’s triumphant debut on PLAYSTATION®3 takes you on a seriously twisted fantasy adventure packed with dark humour and smart satire on established RPG convention and cliché. Penned by game writer Rhianna Pratchett, acclaimed author on Heavenly Sword™, prepare to embark on a tongue-in-cheek journey of death and destruction where evil is enlightening and tyranny’s a treat.
In the Kung Fu Panda video game, players embark on an epic, action-packed adventure as they master the specialized Kung Fu fighting styles of Po the Panda, the unlikely hero, his teacher Shifu, and the legendary Kung Fu masters, the Furious Five: Monkey, Tigress, Viper, Mantis and Crane. Through 13 legendary levels from the movie and beyond, and spanning land, water and air, players must work their way to become the Dragon Warrior and defeat the ultimate enemy, Tai Lung, as they battle a variety of foes, overcome dangerous obstacles, navigate multi-tiered environments and solve challenging puzzles. Featuring a deep variety of gameplay, unique co-op and competitive multiplayer modes, collectibles, and a host of character upgrades, the Kung Fu Panda video game provides an experience gamers of all ages will enjoy.
Sony's game division saw sales go up 26.3 percent in fiscal 2008 to 267.5 billion yen ($2.5 billion), and while the company still took an operating loss of 124.5 billion yen ($1.2 billion), that's close to half of what it was in 2007.
The company also said its Japanese sales "decreased slightly," while sales rose in North America and Europe.
We've already reported Sony's unit sales by platform today, and we also took a peek inside the company's losses throughout PlayStation 3's bumpy start, but now we've also learned that Sony's actually closed some of that gap in its cost-of-sales to sales ratio (how much it costs to make a product versus how much the product earns.)
Though, as we reported earlier, Sony took a hit because the PS3 still costs more to make than they recoup at its current price point, the company says that its price reductions were "successful," in that "a significant increase" in PS3 sales ultimately cut 2007's losses nearly in half over the course of the year. The resulting broader userbase in turn drove software sales, which also helped. Sony says it also benefited from reducing its advertising and marketing expenses.
Finally, Sony credited strong PSP performance buoyed by the success of the slim and lite model for helping reduce losses in its game business segment.
Pricing the PlayStation 3 below its production cost caused Sony to lose $2.16 billion in 2007 and $1.16 billion in 2008, the company revealed today.
Sony's fiscal 2008 annual report delineated potential risk factors to its investors, outlining that "the large-scale investment required during the development and introductory period of a new gaming platform may not be fully recovered." The loss figures were provided as an example of the "significant negative impact" introducing a new platform can cause at first.
"In the past, large-scale investment relating to capital expenditures and research and development for the manufacture of key components, including semiconductors supplied for [PlayStation 3] was also recorded within the Electronics segment," the company said.
Konami has revealed that Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots has sold over one million units in Europe in its first week of release.
The publisher has also said that the limited edition of the PlayStation 3 exclusive has sold out – all 25,000 units.
"The Metal Gear Solid series has again proved its huge potential, and we are delighted with the fantastic response the game has enjoyed at retail," commented Martin Schneider, sales and marketing director for Konami in Germany.
"We are extremely pleased with the positive feedback we have received from retail and consumers alike, and will keep satisfying their needs with updates to the game's 'Extra' option, and via new content to Metal Gear Online," he added.
A supposed Sony employee has leaked new details for the much-anticipated 2.4 firmware update for PS3.
As well as the expected in-game messaging and trophy features, the in-game XMB (Xross Media Bar) access is also said to allow you to play music during gameplay - a much-requested feature already supported by Xbox 360.
The GameFAQS poster, going by the alias Knight613 (claiming to work in R&D at Sony's Foster City branch) also says that, although you'll only have access to a limited number of the XMB's features while a game is running, you will also be able to set up Bluetooth devices, so getting your wireless headset set up won't require you to quit out. In addition, they say that it'll be released some time next week.
A picture of the new trophy screen was also posted, and to prove he isn't just a spotted teenager with a taste for lies, Knight613 also posted a snap of his office pass. That settles it, then. You're fired!
Of course Sony isn't commenting on any of it, leaving us to guess instead.
On a side note, Sony warns that the PSN will be down today from 8am to 2pm pacific time (4pm to 12am GMT) for "scheduled maintenance". That means no access to the PS Store, and no online gaming.
Could this be related to the looming firmware update? Let's hope so.
Who needs colour, anyway? Killzone 2 ignores your TV's ability to display a zillion colours at the same time, and still manages to look nice.
They look to have been taken from the same outdoor battleground as levels we've previously played through, and you can read all about that here.
You never know, this is an alien planet - maybe later stages are set in a colourful toy land where environments are made of sweets and chocolate and the sky is full of rainbows.
Rockstar has released a new patch for GTA IV that should quash the majority of freezing and online connectivity issues on both the PS3 and 360 versions of the game.
The new patch, which should install itself next time you play the game with your console connected to the internet, tightens the nuts and bolts on many of the errors that had gamers in an uproar shortly after launch.
Here's the official list of repairs:
Fixed an issue where players were unable to enter or exit vehicles in GTA Race.
Fixed an issue where scripted vehicles were causing games to unexpectedly crash.
Improved reliability and frequency of PS3 online leaderboard updates.
Fixed a rare hang some players encountered when moving from a Race or GTA Race lobby into gameplay.
Fixed a hang that would occur when players were switching teams during the countdown in the lobby.
Fixed an issue where players were able to get ridiculously high scores from Cops 'n Crooks matches.
Changed GTA Race and Race so that the last player remaining always receives a reward of $250.
Fixed an issue where spectating players would prevent the game from finishing.
Fixed an issue where players were unable to spectate in Round 2 of Cops 'n Crooks games.
Changed countdown timer in lobby so that it no longer resets when new players join a game.
Changed the kick option so that kicked players are no longer brought back to single player.
Release the Minions! Codemasters today announced that Overlord Raising Hell, the extra evil edition of Triumph Studios' twisted fantasy blockbuster, has shipped to US retail stores nationwide for the PlayStation 3 home entertainment system.
In Overlord: Raising Hell, gamers are taken deeper into the twisted world of the Overlord with a series of new levels, each a supernatural abyss where an undead army is on the march. With the Overlord's supremacy under attack, it's time to unleash the manic minion horde and embark on a new tour of lively extermination in the underworld.
A dungeon-full of other improvements and new content come on the rounded Blu-ray Disc, including online co-op play, head-to-head slaughter and enhanced visuals. Top specification 7.1-surround sound support, a new on-screen mini-map, split-screen play, and hints, tips and tactics and more combine to make Overlord: Raising Hell's tongue-in-cheek trail of death and destruction the most delightful yet.
Overlord: Raising Hell is the Overlord's definitive outing and is now available for the PlayStation 3 system. Prepare the minions and unleash the inner dictator with the new video and more available online available online at www.codemasters.com/overlordraisinghell.
Built-in 5 high efficient and reliable mega power fans to speed up the air circulation and prevents the console from overheat thus prolongs its life span.
Square-Enix has confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that it will be releasing 12 classic PlayStation games from its library, available for download via the PlayStation Store.
Six of the titles are available to download from PSN now in Japan and cost JPY 600, but similar plans for other regions are as yet to be announced.
The titles currently available in Japan are:
1. Xenogears
2. Einhander
3. Astronoka
4. Rakugaki Showtime
5. Raystorm
6. Fighters Impact
Sucker Punch's upcoming sandbox superhero game, inFamous, is due out next year in PAL regions and Sony has some new screenshots to get you worked up about it.
They depict player-character Dylan wreaking havoc on the fictional Empire City, using his various zappy Palpatine powers to send cars flying into buses while hanging from a lamp-post. The scamp.
According to details released by Sony yesterday, and a recent cover feature in a US games magazine, inFamous begins with a massive explosion in Empire City and Dylan emerging from the rubble, crackling with electricity.
He quickly makes contact with his friend Zeke, and is encouraged to leg it in his direction before things in the city get any livelier. Off he goes, but despite manfully dodging falling girders and debris, whatever happened to him in the heart of the initial explosion overcomes him and dumps him in a coma for 15 days.
During those 15 days, things get a bit out of hand - with talk of martial law and uprisings and mysterious plagues and all sorts. When Dylan wakes up, coming to terms with his burgeoning electric superhero powers, the player has to decide whether to save the city of destroy it.
An openworld game by design, inFamous doesn't bother with weapons and car control for Dylan; instead it's all about charting a path down good or evil roads, with a "Karma" system governing the city's responses to your actions and their implications on the story and your abilities. You'll also battle "powerful, iconic villains".
Visually, as you can see from the screenshots, it's heading in a GTA IV/Crackdown/Saints Row kind of direction, although we're also told to expect cut-scenes inspired by the comic books that obviously inspired the superhero premise.
It all sounds quite interesting, and if you missed last year's E3 unveiling, you can check out that blurry trailer over on Eurogamer TV. At the time we'd been told to expect inFamous in 2008, but now Sony is saying 2009 - perhaps springtime. We're doubly excited because Sucker Punch made our beloved Sly Raccoon games.
We hope to see more of inFamous at E3 next month, so expect first-hand impressions sooner rather than later.
EA's getting ready for football season a bit early. Today, EA Sports announced that Madden NFL 09 went gold and will be available in stores nationwide on August 12th. Madden NFL 09 will feature 85 new features and enhancements, such as gameplay that adapts to a player's skill level, a new broadcast presentation from Cris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond, and improved online leagues. The announcement of the game going gold today is a bit surprising, particularly because it won't be released for a month and a half from now.
Madden NFL 09 will be available for the PS3 and Xbox 360, as well as the PS2, DS, PSP, and Xbox. Madden NFL 09 All-Play, which will host new gameplay and play calling systems to take advantage of the Wii-mote, will be available on the Wii.
Bandai-Namco's Super Robot Wars A Portable for the PSP has debuted at the top spot of the Japanese software chart for the week ended June 22, according to figures released by Media Create.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots drops a place to number two and is the only PlayStation 3 title in this week's chart.
It is followed by two new entries, Super Mario Stadium Family Baseball for the Wii and Koei's PS2 title Harulanaru Tokie no Naka de 4, in third and fourth places respectively.
Bringing up the rear of the chart is Nintendo's Beautiful Letter Training for the DS at nine and Sega's Let's Make a Pro Baseball Team! also for the DS in last place at ten.
The chart for the week ended June 22 follow:
1. Super Robot Wars A Portable (PSP)
2. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3)
3. Super Mario Stadium Family Baseball (WII)
4. Harulanaru Toki no Naka de 4 (PS2)
5. Mario Kart Wii (WII)
6. Wii Fit (WII)
7. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP)
8. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball 3 (PSP)
9. Beautiful Letter Training (NDS)
10. Let's Make a Pro Baseball Team! (NDS)
Former Sony Worldwide Studios exec Phil Harrison's influence at the early stages of LittleBigPlanet was "completely key and pivotal" says Alex Evans.
"Obviously that then transitioned into Sony, and especially the team at Liverpool, and Michael Denny - I don't want to downplay their roles as well. But certainly with Phil, at the very beginning, the amazing thing was that he got it," the Media Molecule co-founder told GamesIndustry.biz.
Evans said the team struggled to describe the game in words before they had anything to show, and didn't expect a publisher to really get it - let alone champion it.
"But the interesting thing with Phil was that when we pitched to him, we actually played down what became the Game 3.0 things that he talked about.
"We pitched much more of a platform game, the physics and so on, and he was very instrumental in telling us to think about what it would mean to have user-generated content - to think about what that means for the community."
Evans said Harrison pushed them - correctly - towards what they most wanted to do, with great clarity and perspective.
"I think that was his influence on the game early on, and I think it was hugely useful to have that degree of focus in the right place, and the right time."
Although Harrison has since departed for Infogrames, Evans notes that Sony as a whole is behind the game and thinks that there will be a continuation of the "good patterns" that were set up during the development process.
Sony Computer Entertainment Japan has confirmed that a new download service offering movies on the PlayStation 3 is set to launch shortly.
The service will go live in the US this summer, according to Kaz Hirai, with a roll-out in Japan and Europe at later dates. Official timings are expected next month.
The service will be a direct rival to Microsoft's service over Xbox Live, which currently boasts movies and TV content from a host of partners including MTV, Warner Bros., Paramount and National Geographic, amongst others.
The company said that the PlayStation 3 will be the first Sony product to benefit from video services, with plans to expand video to other products by 2010.
As a further sign of Sony's commitment to networked products, this November Sony Pictures Entertainment will offer Will Smith movie Hancock to all internet connected Bravia LCD TVs in the US before it's available on DVD.
Sony exec Kaz Hirai has been demonstrating a new PS3 exclusive application titled 'Life with PlayStation', Kotaku reports.
The application is a Google Earth-style affair with a spinning globe which presents weather and news information from around the world. Stories are accessible from their headlines and users can choose their own musical accompaniment whilst browsing. It's been suggested that later iterations of the system will also allow location specific 'Geo-tagged' images to be browsed.
Pics of 'Life With PlayStation', which should really be a documentary about addiction starring David James, but isn't, are available on Kotaku, courtesy of Dengeki Online.
Sony has revealed that over 9.8 million users have registered PlayStation Network accounts.
Between them, they have accessed over 170 million downloads via the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable service.
The PlayStation Network allows users to access the PlayStation Store for demos, trailers, full games and other content, as well as communicate with other users.
Today, Sony revealed that it will be offering a movie download service for PlayStation 3 users, due to go live in the US this summer.
Sony has updated the PlayStation Store with the promised MGS4 Database and a demo of Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3.
Those of you who enjoy Commando 3 will be able to buy the full version from the European store next week, as revealed on Eurogamer earlier.
Both are for PS3 owners, while PSP owners can download the original Pursuit Force for GBP 14.99 from either the PC Store or via the PS3 online service.
PS3 owners also get access to the free World of Warcraft song we mentioned earlier and an extra character for PAIN, Nigel, for GBP 0.69.
Elsewhere there are Prince of Persia, PAIN, Prince Caspian and Call of Duty: World at War trailers.
Ascaron Entertainment GmbH, one of Europe's leading game developers, today announced that the PlayStation 3 version of their upcoming action RPG, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will hit retail shelves this fall.
"Role-playing game enthusiasts have always been strongly represented on the PlayStation platforms, and we are delighted to offer a version of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel for the PlayStation 3," said Heiko tom Felde, Managing Director of Ascaron Entertainment GmbH. "We've been working on this version for more than a year, and can now proudly reveal it and its new features, to an entirely new audience."
This version of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel will feature enhanced graphics, 5.1 Channel Dolby Surround Sound and support drop-in cooperative play, as well as other multiplayer gaming modes via the Internet. The game also features two-player shared-screen gaming on one console - players simply pick up a controller, press "Start" and join their friends. Players can save their characters and use them in all game modes - allowing the same character to be used both in single-player or multiplayer modes, accumulating experience and loot seamlessly. The controls and interface have been developed from scratch for the PlayStation 3 to ensure fluid and intuitive game play optimized for the platform throughout.
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is an action RPG which features a huge, seamless and living world spanning over 22 square miles of hand-crafted terrain, top-notch 3D graphics and online "hot swap" cooperative play with monsters that dynamically adjust to party strength for a consistent challenge.
Eternal Sonata's due on the PS3 (at least in Japan) in September 2008. It was released on the 360 (at least in Japan) in June 2007. Time enough for tri-Crescendo to make the wait a little more worthwhile for PS3 owners, yes? Yes. Plenty of time. The PS3 version will feature two new playable characters, new dungeons, new quests, multiple endings (which depend on your in-game actions), new costumes, some new musical numbers and even new 2D character illustrations. That's a lot of stuff! Maybe even enough to convince some die-hard fans to buy the thing twice. All those upgrades should feature in the Western versions as well, which will be out...sometime in the future.
Good news, karaoke fans - Sony has whacked a bundle of new songs in the SingStore.
Highlights include A Kind of Magic by Queen and Morrissey's Everday is Like Sunday. There's also plenty of new-fangled contemporary jangling for those too young to remember Smash Hits. Also some foreign ones.
Here's that new SingStore top 40 in full:
English:
A Flock Of Seagulls, I Ran (So Far Away)
Bros, When Will I Be Famous?
Coldplay, Clocks
Corinne Bailey Rae, Put Your Records On
Editors, The Racing Rats
Franz Ferdinand, Do You Want To
Franz Ferdinand, Take Me Out
Judas Priest, You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’
Lily Allen, Littlest Things
Mark Ronson feat. Daniel Merriweather, Stop Me
Morrissey, Everyday Is Like Sunday
Queen, A Kind Of Magic
The Ting Tings, That’s Not My Name
The Wombats, Moving To New York
The Zutons, Valerie
Warrant, Cherry Pie
Marit Bergman, No Party
Swedish:
Marit Bergman, No Party
Finnish:
Suurlähettiläät, Elokuun 11.
French:
Christophe Willem Double Je
German:
2raumwohnung, Melancholisch Schön
2raumwohnung, Nimm Mich Mit - Das Abenteuer Liebe Usw
Hirai said during a Thursday PlayStation business briefing that Sony has been cutting PS3 manufacturing costs by reducing the number of components and decreasing the size of chips.
"The Cell and RSX used in PS3s at launch were manufactured using a 90nm process technology. And now all PS3 Cells have shifted to 65nm process technology since last holiday season," he said.
The smaller chip technology runs more efficiently and costs less to produce.
While the improved Cell is in circulation, the RSX graphics chip, created in tandem with Nvidia, still uses 90nm technology.
But a more efficient RSX will be in PS3s shortly, Hirai says. "As for RSX, 65nm process technology has begun this year already, and will be ready for installment in autumn."
Welcome to this week's Games Update, our weekly summary featuring all new product arrivals from the last seven days.
As mentioned in last week's preview, a large number of interesting games of all sorts of genres came out this week.
Starting with music games, we have Guitar Hero: On Tour [US & Asian versions] and Daigasso! Band Brothers DX. With these two games on your Nintendo DS, not only can you listen to music on the go, but perform as well.
Fighting games demands as much from your reflexes as music games. Participate in the fight of the decade in The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match.
While the King of Fighters is a well known classic, Sengoku Basara X [limited and standard editions] combines a historical fantasy plot with hack and slash, and Sunsoft Collection which takes on a more light hearted approach by making use of colorful visuals and funny attacks.
Combine strategy with your fighting prowesses in war games such as Battlefield: Bad Company, that allows you uninhibited freedom, Mobile Suit Gundam: Operation: Troy [Asia & JPN] that offers a wide range of mobile suits to pilot and by making use of Xbox360's networking facilities, pick a fight with all the veterans out there.
Aside from joining in the earthly wars, raise some havoc in the supernatural world in Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath.
There are a lot of games that provide exciting fights with a strong, captivating plot. Bleach the 3rd Phantom came out with a storyline that connects past events with the present, while Tales of Symphonia: Knight of Ratatosk ties up the loose ends from the first installment.
RPG that takes place in fantasy settings include Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard, which is a sequel to Etrian Odyssey, an adventure where you have to ascend to the clouds and retrieve the Grail of Kings.
Another RPG that deals with adventure and royalty is Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, you need to claim the throne before other warlords in the demon kingdom snatches it away from you.
As usually, here's a summary of all new releases from this week, followed by a quick preview of what is expected to be hot next week.
Xbox360™:
Alone in the Dark ASIA US$ 49.90
Battlefield: Bad Company ASIA US$ 49.90
Battlefield: Bad Company JPN US$ 64.90
Battlefield: Bad Company Gold Edition ASIA N/A
Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath ASIA US$ 49.90
Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm US US$ 64.90
Mobile Suit Gundam: Operation: Troy ASIA US$ 49.90
Mobile Suit Gundam: Operation: Troy JPN US$ 68.90
Wall-E US US$ 59.90
PlayStation3™:
Battlefield: Bad Company ASIA US$ 49.90
Battlefield: Bad Company Gold Edition ASIA US$ 59.90
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars JPN US$ 68.90
Overlord: Raising Hell ASIA US$ 49.90
The Darkness JPN US$ 64.90
Wall-E US US$ 59.90
Nintendo Wii™:
Tales of Symphonia: Knight of Ratatosk JPN US$ 64.90
The World of Golden Eggs: Nori Nori Rhythm Kei JPN US$ 49.90
Wacky Races: Crash & Dash US US$ 44.90
Wall-E US US$ 59.90
PlayStation2™:
Aria the Origination: Aoi Wakusei no El Cielo JPN US$ 64.90
Aria the Origination: Aoi Wakusei no El Cielo [Limited Edition] JPN US$ 149.90
Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special (Ultimate Hits) JPN US$ 34.90
Final Fantasy XII (Ultimate Hits) JPN US$ 34.90
Hisshou Pachinko * Pachi-Slot Kouryaku Series DS Vol. 12: CR Neon Genesis Evangelion - Shito, Futatabi JPN US$ 64.90
Kingdom Hearts II (Ultimate Hits) JPN US$ 34.90
Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ (Ultimate Hits) JPN US$ 34.90
Sengoku Basara X JPN US$ 62.90
Sengoku Basara X [Limited Edition] JPN US$ 79.90
Sunsoft Collection JPN US$ 49.90
Taito Memories II Gekan (Eternal Hits) JPN US$ 34.90
Taito Memories II Joukan (Eternal Hits) JPN US$ 34.90
The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match JPN US$ 49.90
Wall-E US US$ 44.90
Nintendo DS™:
Arkanoid DS US US$ 24.90
Bleach: The 3rd Phantom JPN US$ 48.90
Bokura no Telebi Game Kentei JPN US$ 48.90
Code Lyoko: Fall of X.A.N.A. US US$ 34.90
Daigasso! Band Brothers DX JPN US$ 48.90
Dementium: The Ward JPN US$ 48.90
Derby Stallion DS JPN US$ 58.90
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness JPN US$ 48.90
Disney Friends JPN US$ 48.90
Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard US US$ 34.90
Guitar Hero: On Tour ASIA US$ 54.90
Guitar Hero: On Tour US US$ 59.90
Hakoniwa Seikatsu: Hitsuji Mura DS JPN US$ 48.90
Higurashi no Nakukoru ni Kizuna: Dai-Ichi-Kan - Tatari JPN US$ 39.90
Higurashi no Nakukoru ni Kizuna: Dai-Ichi-Kan - Tatari [Limited Edition] JPN N/A
Imagine: Rock Star US US$ 34.90
Jigsaw World: Daigekitou! Jig-Battle Heroes JPN US$ 48.90
MegaMan StarForce 2 Zerker X Ninja US US$ 34.90
MegaMan StarForce 2 Zerker X Saurian US US$ 34.90
Midnight Play Pack ASIA US$ 32.90
My Health Coach: Weight Management ASIA N/A
Odenkun: Tanoshii Oden Mura JPN US$ 39.90
Ookami to Koushinryou: Boku to Horo no Ichinen JPN US$ 48.90
Ookami to Koushinryou: Boku to Horo no Ichinen [Limited Edition] JPN US$ 79.90
Owarai Zunou Battle: Nobunaga no Yabou JPN US$ 48.90
Petz Dogz Fashion US US$ 34.90
Simple DS Series Vol. 39: The Shouboutai JPN US$ 28.90
Space Invaders Extreme US US$ 24.90
SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis JPN US$ 48.90
Tamagotchi Connection Corner Shop 3 US US$ 34.90
The Tower DS JPN US$ 48.90
Wacky Races: Crash & Dash US US$ 34.90
Wall-E US US$ 34.90
Sony PSP™:
Hellboy: Science of Evil ASIA US$ 29.90
Ken to Mahou to Gakuen Mono. JPN US$ 48.90
Momoiro Sister Yakyuken Portable JPN US$ 37.90
Secret Agent Clank US US$ 44.90
Shinkyouku Soukai Polyphonica 0-4 Hanashi Full Pack JPN US$ 44.90
Space Invaders Extreme US US$ 24.90
Wall-E US US$ 34.90
Winning Post 6 2008 JPN US$ 48.90
World Neverland Olerud Okoku Monogatari & Pluto Kyouwakoku Monogatari 2 in 1 Portable JPN US$ 39.90
PC Games:
Wall-E (DVD-ROM) US US$ 24.90
Video Game Related Books:
Bleach the 3rd Phantom Ban-kai hei hou kyoku no sho (V Jump Books) JPN US$ 18.90
Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch - Lost Colors Perfect Guide + Gallery JPN US$ 27.90
Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 4 Official Guide JPN US$ 18.90
Moe Moe - Spy Encyclopedia JPN US$ 23.90
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G The Master Guide JPN US$ 29.90
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G: Entry Level Books on Weaponry II - Shooters and Bow Guns JPN US$ 9.90
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G: Entry Level Books on Weaponry II - Slashers and Bows JPN US$ 9.90
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G: Information on heightening your defense (G-Class) JPN US$ 9.90
Nana Disco Graphic Seal JPN US$ 1.90
Operation Darkness: The Official Strategy Guide US US$ 19.90
Tales of Symphonia: Knight of Ratatosk Seirei no Sho Wii (V Jump books) JPN US$ 16.90
The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match Master Guide JPN US$ 22.90
Valhalla Knights 2 Perfect Capture Guide JPN US$ 26.90
Valkyria Chronicles Complete Guide JPN US$ 24.90
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria, Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth Material Collection JPN US$ 89.90
Video Game related Soundtrack and Movies:
Eternal Fantasy Character Song CD Vol.3 Ryurika (~Ryurika) JPN US$ 11.90
Famison 8 Bit Idol Master 05 (~Chihaya Kisaragi, Iori Minase) JPN US$ 22.90
Final Fantasy XI Piano Collection JPN US$ 26.90
Harukanaru Toki No Naka De 3 Kurenai No Tsuki Vocal Collection JPN US$ 28.90
Harukanaru Toki No Naka De 4 - Ame Sora No Sho JPN US$ 29.90
Harukanaru Toki No Naka De 4 - Otsuchi No Sho JPN US$ 29.90
L No Kisetsu 2: Invisible Memories Soundtrack JPN US$ 27.90
Sangokushi Taisen 3 Event DVD Sangokushi Taisen Sanshunen No Utage JPN US$ 37.90
Sengoku Basara X Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 27.90
Shunkan Spline (Tayutama: Kiss on My Deity Intro Theme) (~Kicco) JPN US$ 11.90
Tales of Innocence Drama CD Vol.1 (~Akiko Kimura, Yuko Sasamoto, Yuji Ueda) JPN US$ 27.90
Tsuioku No Despair (Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kizuna Vol.1 Tatari Theme Song) (~Kanako Ito) JPN US$ 11.90
Tsuioku No Despair (Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kizuna Vol.1 Tatari Theme Song) [CD+DVD Limited Edition] (~Kanako Ito) JPN US$ 17.90
Zaika Ni Keiyaku No Chi Wo (Chaos; Head Add-In Song) (~Fantasm (FES CV: Yui Sakakibara)) JPN US$ 11.90
A separate Video/Music update containing Japanese releases from this week, including new Anime, J-Pop and Movie releases will follow prior end of the week. So J-Pop, Anime and Movie fans, be sure to look out for that one!
Here is a quick outlook what's expected to be hot next week, please notice that some of the Asian version releases may still be postponed, so do check back regularly for more updates:
Xbox360™:
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith ASIA US$ 59.90
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith US US$ 64.90
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Bundle ASIA US$ 129.90
Hellboy: Science of Evil ASIA US$ 54.90
Top Spin 3 ASIA US$ 49.90
Top Spin 3 US US$ 64.90
Xbox360™ Accessories:
HORI Fighting Stick EX2 (Soul Calibur IV Limited Edition) US US$ 79.90
PlayStation3™:
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith US US$ 64.90
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith ASIA US$ 59.90
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Bundle ASIA US$ 129.90
Hellboy: Science of Evil US US$ 64.90
Initial D Extreme Stage JPN US$ 74.90
Initial D Extreme Stage (w/ English manual) ASIA US$ 59.90
Top Spin 3 US US$ 64.90
Top Spin 3 ASIA US$ 59.90
PlayStation3™ Accessories:
HORI Fighting Stick 3 (Soul Calibur IV Limited Edition) US US$ 69.90
Nintendo Wii™:
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith US US$ 59.90
Top Spin 3 US US$ 59.90
PlayStation2™:
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith US US$ 59.90
Nintendo DS™:
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift US US$ 44.90
Sony PSP™:
Bleach: Heat the Soul 4 (PSP the Best) ASIA US$ 24.90
Bleach: Heat the Soul 4 (PSP the Best) JPN US$ 29.90
Sony held a group business briefing in Tokyo today to share its plans for 2008 to 2010. Taking up a good chunk of that time was Sony Computer Entertainment president Kaz Hirai, who introduced new non-game initiatives for the PlayStation brand.
The company's long awaited video on demand service will target PlayStation 3 and PSP, adding movies and television programs to the PlayStation Network on top of the current game content. Videos will be sold through a video store on the network and will be viewable both in download and streaming form.
America will get the first shot at the video service this summer. The program will then continue on to Japan and Europe.
While further details will be announced at E3 next month, sample images of the video store shown at the press conference resembled the current PlayStation Store, right down to windowed video previews of content. The sample store image had buttons allowing the user to toggle between video store and game store, suggesting that PS3 users will have to access just one main shop interface to get all their downloadable content.
Categories of video content in the sample images included "New Arrivals," "Movies," "Television," "Anime," "HD Only," "Rentals," "Purchase", and "Top Downloads." The sample images also listed pricing for a couple of titles: a Ghost Rider rental in HD at $5.99 and a Ghost Rider purchase copy in SD at $12.99. These prices are presumably unofficial.
PlayStation products are just the start for Sony's video plans. By 2010, Sony plans on expanding the download service to televisions, PCs, and mobile sets.
In addition to the new video service, Sony also unveiled a brand new initiative: Life with PlayStation. This new program will offer real time news updates and weather to PlayStation 3 users via an interactive globe interface. The globe interface displays recreations of the weather and shows headlines as you move to different locals. The headlines can be clicked on to open up more details in a browser window. Users can play music off their PS3 in the background as they use this service.
Future plans for the Life with PlayStation service could go beyond just the globe. Hirai mentioned the possibility of introducing a timeline interface for letting PS3 owners sort and view their photographs chronologically.
Sony also addressed the PlayStation Portable's multimedia functionality today. Sony will be expanding the portable's network functionality, and will at long last offer direct connection to the PlayStation Store some time this fiscal year.
Sales of the PlayStation 3 have dropped in Japan following last week's boost for the system after the release of Konami's Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.
Hardware numbers from Media Create show the PS3 shifted 20,336 units for the week ended June 22, compared to over 75,000 units last week.
However, Sony can still claim the best-selling hardware in the region, as the PSP handheld sold 59,351 units in the past week, more than Nintendo's Wii (41,037) and DS (36,599).
The nine year-old PlayStation 2 continues to outsell Microsoft's Xbox 360, with 6,346 units compared to 2,555 units.
Following yesterday's announcement that the PlayStation 3 will soon feature a movie download service, a report has suggested that no movie companies have yet inked an official deal with Sony.
Although Sony has been in talks with all the major movie distributors, Variety reports that only it's own film division – Sony Pictures – is a definite for the service.
"Sources at numerous major studios confirmed to me that while they have all talked to Sony, none have yet made a deal. The only one that's definitely on board so far is, for obvious reasons, Sony Pictures," writes Variety reporter Ben Fritz.
Sony said yesterday that the PlayStation 3 would be the first product to benefit from video services, with plans to expand video to other products by 2010 – offering an indication that the handheld PSP could be next on the list.
Variety suggests that users could transfer movie downloads from the PS3 to the PSP, as well as content copied from Blu-ray discs.
Microsoft already has a head start with a similar download service for the Xbox 360, with partners such as Paramount, National Geographic, MTV and Warner Bros. offering movies and TV shows.
Sony has launched a new website for PS3 game Buzz! Quiz TV, and you can find it over at MyBuzzQuiz.com.
It's not just a load of rubbishy old screens and flash movies - the point is, you can create your very own quizzes and play them online. You can also try out ones other people have created. (We correctly answered six out of eight questions in the Mario Kart quiz, though we'd argue the answer to one of those questions is subjective and there's no way Princess Peach is fatter than Donkey Kong.)
Then, when Buzz! Quiz TV launches on July 4th, you'll be able to download quizzes and play them on your PS3.
Sony was not available to comment on how long it's likely to be before it all goes a bit Spore and the website is full of nothing but penis quizzes.
When Soul Calibur's cadre of fighters cut their way onto the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this July in North America, they will do so in pairs. The latest issue of Famitsu reveals that the game will feature tag team elements in order to "perform combos" based on an on-screen meter that depletes as characters continue to test the bonds of friendship.
However, according to crack CAG translators, it remains unknown to what extent "character swapping" will be featured in Soul Calibur IV. The article interestingly only mentions the mechanic in reference to the game's single player mode, and that "teammates may suddenly join and leave at the end of the battle." We can't imagine that Namco Bandai would be so shortsighted as to leave something like this out of the game's versus mode. Still, we imagine that just the idea of Darth Vader conquering the galaxy shoulder to shoulder with top-heavy Taki (or Ivy, or Cassandra, or...) is enough to get fan fiction writers reaching for the keyboard and a change of pants.
SOCOM Confrontation's retail release will include a Bluetooth headset, Sony reconfirmed today -- this time with pictures. While similar to the Jabra headset packaged inside Warhawk's box (and later removed), SOCOM's offering actually appears to be well-designed and, in fact, PlayStation-branded. Features include a prominent Mute button, USB charging cradle, and extended battery life. Sony has neither finalized the design nor priced a standalone model, but the SOCOM bundle is rumored to fetch $80.
In this article Terra Soft show you how to configure and encrypt, step-by-step, the built-in Wi-Fi network that comes with the Cell Broadband Engine-based Sony PlayStation 3. And, as a little bonus, get 16 quick steps that explain how to switch from a wireless network back to a wired network on the PS3
10,000 B.C. (~Steven Strait, Camilla Belle, ...) US US$ 35.99
Earth JPN US$ 46.90
Fatal Move (~Sammo Hung, Simon Yam Tat Wah, ...) HK US$ 27.90
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Hacken Lee Seoul Concert Hall II (~Hacken Lee) HK US$ 27.90
House of Fury (~Gillian Chung, Stephen Fung, ...) US US$ 29.95
In The Line Of Fire JPN US$ 47.90
Men In Black JPN US$ 47.90
Over Alaska US US$ 19.99
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Retto Judan Tetsudo Noritsukushi No Tabi JR20000km Zensen Soha Haru Hen (~Railroad) JPN US$ 119.90
Rossini: La Cenerentola US US$ 45.98
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Step Into Liquid [dts] (~Jim Knost, Alex Knost, ...) US US$ 29.99
Surf's Up JPN US$ 47.90
The Bone Collector (~Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, ...) JPN US$ 47.90
The Spiderwick Chronicles (~Freddie Highmore, Mary-Louise Parker, ...) US US$ 39.99
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Washington the Beautiful US US$ 19.99
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Top Spin 3 brings the fun, action-packed excitement of tennis to your console with authentic features including signature styles and expressions for over 20 top ranked players, more than 40 breathtaking real world venues, jaw-dropping graphics via all-new Evolutionary Visuals™, fully licensed soundtrack, and much more!
Top Spin 3 is the first tennis game to incorporate right analog stick controls, and to include classic legendary players of the past. Are you ready for the challenge?
Game Features:
New gameplay controls: Intuitive controls, now incorporating the right thumbstick, allow for precise movements and shot variety providing gamers with an unprecedented tennis experience.
Signature style: The world's best players including Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, and Andy Roddick are accurately depicted like never before with actual apparel, equipment, and even swing animations.
Tennis legends: For the first time ever, play with or against legendary figures such as Björn Borg, Boris Becker and Monica Seles.
2K Sports online: Play against anyone, anywhere, anytime in up to four game modes including singles, doubles, quick-match, and a comprehensive world tour with live stat tracking
All-new soundtrack: Great new music is included featuring Jamiroquai, Calvin Harris, Boys Like Girls, The Go! Team, Stone Roses, and Franz Ferdinand
2K Sports brings past and present tennis players under your control via Top Spin 3. The US versions of the game are in stock and are available on these consoles:
Xbox360™
Top Spin 3 US US$ 64.90
PlayStation3™
Top Spin 3 US US$ 64.90
Nintendo Wii™
Top Spin 3 US US$ 59.90
Nintendo DS™
Top Spin 3 US US$ 34.90
The Asian versions of Top Spin 3 are available on Xbox360™ and PlayStation3™ and are shipping for US$ 49.90 and US$ 59.90 respectively only.
features
Platform: PlayStation3, X-Box360
Maps detailed with the locations of all gold and collectibles!
Complete walkthroughs for each mission, including alternate strategies.
Battlefield-tested combat tactics. Our guide shows the best ways to use demolition to your tactical advantage.
Deadly weapons information for all kits. Know which armament is the right tool for the job!
Offensive and defensive multiplayer strategies to help you get the edge in online play. Interior
While wrangling coverage of Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational will consume a portion of my weekend, spending more time hands-on with Silicon Knights' Too Human will swallow up quite a bit more of my Saturday and Sunday. Expect extended impressions on that game throughout next week. To wind down, I'll be devoting some personal time with Team Fortress 2, playing as one of the many Pyros clogging the ranks on the hunt for Steam Achievements and new weapons. Oh, and there's Soul Bubbles to finish. Lordy!
Other than that, it's time for serious Summer fun. We'll be bandying about shuttlecocks and grilling lots of meat in the greater Los Angeles area, working on our third sunburn. What have you got planned for this regular sized weekend? Any gaming gettin' done?
Breaking a new title into the MMO market is difficult, as any game developer whose name isn't synonymous with an overabundance of frosty precipitation will attest -- especially when your title fits into a particular niche already explored by another developer. For instance, NCSoft's City of Heroes cornered the super hero MMO market when it debuted in 2004, creating an intimidating hurdle that other online vigilante simulators have yet to attempt to vault.
The latest issue of Edge magazine features an interview with Jim Lee, creative director for Sony's upcoming DC Universe Online, who reveals the steps Sony is taking to set their title apart from NCSoft's. With their inclusion of a number of recognizable faces from DC's voluminous roster, and their focus on making the title a "kick-ass hybrid between a traditional MMO and a first-person action console game", the apparent differences between the two games are clear. As long as there's a rich, intricate fish-controlling engine, we'll give it a shot.
The Blu-ray retail version of SOCOM ConfrontationWarhawk bundle so long ago. This one is made specifically with gaming in mind -- and as such, earns the official PlayStation branding. The headset, which will also be available seperately from the game, is designed for long use and even includes a much-needed Mute button, a feature uncommon to most Bluetooth headsets. The device will also include a USB cradle, so that it can be charged via the PS3.
While neither the design and price have been completely finalized, Sony plans on pricing this quite competitively. From the looks of its quality, we believe Sony will charge more than what they did for Warhawk.
