Take-Two Considering Layoffs at Venom Games Following an earlier report that Venom Games would be closed at the end of July, Take-Two has confirmed to Next-Gen that it is currently considering making layoffs at 2K Games’ only UK-based development studio.
Dark Sector Dev Working On BioShock PS3 Take-Two has entered a development partnership with London, Ontario-based Dark Sector developer Digital Extremes for the PS3 version of BioShock.
Call of Duty 4 Tops Xbox Live Activity BLOG – Infinity Ward’s ten million plus selling shooter Call of Duty 4 topped Xbox Live activity for the week ended June 29, holding off competition from the likes of Halo 3 and GTA IV.
Moore: Consoles, Not PC, Best for Sports After deciding not to bring Madden NFL 09 to PC, EA Sports boss Peter Moore explained the impetus behind the decision, and why he thinks the sports game market on PC is in decline.
Empire to Shed Internal Studio, 30% of Staff Silverstar-owned publisher Empire Interactive will sell off internal development studio Razorworks as it bids to reduce its staff headcount by 30 percent.
Capcom to Establish French Subsidiary Japanese publisher Capcom has revealed plans to establish a subsidiary in France to help drive European sales of its games.
GAME First Half Sales Up 54% UK retailer GAME has issued a trading update, showing first half 2008 sales up 54 percent, and has announced plans to open 60 new stores ahead of the Christmas trading period, as well as the appointment of a new non executive director.
European, Indian Markets to Get New PS2 Sony Computer Entertainment will be launching a redesigned PS2 in European and Indian markets by late October, according to a new report.
A Look Back at Nordic Game 08 On its fifth birthday, the Nordic conference juggled regional promotion with global glitz.
Making Microtransactions Work Convincing Western audiences to pay little bits of money over a wide span of time has proven difficult, but there's still plenty of hope for the microtransaction model, says ourWorld CEO Derrick Morton.
Analyst: EA Quality Comes at a Cost An analyst with Lazard Capital Markets has lowered his price target for EA shares, stating that Improving product execution comes at a cost.
The Xbox 360 DualShock? The PS3 Xbox 360 Controller? Over at Xbox-Scene Forums, moderator RDC has modded an Xbox 360 controller into a PS3 controller, writing: "The D-pad, Select, PS, Start, Square, Triangle, Circle, Cross, L1/R1 and L3/R3 buttons are all wired up right now and working, as are the LEDs for showing which controller it is." So, yes, this Frankencontroller will work with a PS3. And if that wasn't enough, RDC did the same in reverse by modding a DualShock 3 into an Xbox 360 controller. Take a look after the jump.
For a game built upon endless repetition, Brain Training's certainly making an impression on some people, because years on from release, the two games are still selling like fancy, heated cakes. So Nintendo are surely working on more, yes? Itprintsmoney.gif and all that? No. Having most likely noticed the fact people can't tell the two games apart, and still buy more of the original than the sequel, it's been announced by Nintendo (grain of salt notice: Nintendo Europe) that two will do, and they'll just keep on selling them for millennia until our sun expands, killing us all in a blinding flash of white.
The more people buy PS3s, the more people sign up to the the PSN. The more people sign up to the PSN, the more it costs Sony to keep the thing running. So will there come a time when Sony start charging you for the use of the PSN? Maybe! You can never rule that kinda thing out. But if they are, they're not doing it soon, with PSN boss (and man of the moment) Eric Lempel saying:
We’re happy with what we’re doing right now and we’re going to stick with it. I think being free is always an advantage. The fact that it’s free is nice for consumers who want to try out the online experience, those who may be new to it and may not be ready to commit to spending dollars, and that’s a really good message for us.
Course, Eric then says that leaves you with money free for game subscriptions (and he doesn't mention Qore), but his basic point remains valid! Free stuff is nice.
If you're in the mood to spend your Independence Day with some Battlefield: Bad Company trailers, this update has your name written all over it. It's also got Top Gun and FREE written all over it, as Guitar Hero III owners get a track for nothin'. Rock Band owners, you get a freebie, too. There's little that's playable this week, but the PlayStation Store is just stuffed with trailers. Pity then that two of them are for the PlayStation 3 port of Vampire Rain. Move along for the full update.
Expansions and Add-Ons
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock bonus track - "Top Gun Anthem" (free)
Rock Band add-on tracks
* “Promised Land” by Vesuvius (free)
* “Who’s Going Home with You Tonight?” - Trapt ($0.99)
* “Time Is Running Out” - Papa Roach ($0.99)
* “Down at the Whisky” - Motley Crüe ($0.99)
* Crüe Fest Pack 1 ($2.99) - “Time Is Running Out” by Papa Roach, “Down at the Whisky” by Motley Crüe, and “Who’s Going Home with You Tonight?” by Trapt
How many Tales games are already on their way? Dunno. We've lost count. Especially now that we know there are two more coming, one for the PSP, one for the DS. The PSP one's called Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2, which will feature the same main character as the upcoming Tales of Vesperia for the 360. The DS one's called Tales of The Heart (pictured). Both will be out in Japan by the end of the year, no word yet on Western dates.
Wii Fit has done big business in Japan — and pretty much everywhere, for that matter. The peripheral and game went on sale late last year in The Land of the Rising Sun, and Japanese website IT Media poses the question: Do Wii Fit owners actually still play Wii Fit everyday? Short answer: Nope. According to the thousand IT Media readers polled (for whatever that's worth), the majority of them do not play their copies of Wii Fit (ditto). Here's the breakdown:
Do you use Wii Fit faithfully everyday? • 22 percent — I record my progress faithfully everyday • 6 percent — Maybe once every two or three days • 6 percent — Once a week • 64 percent — Stopped using after purchase
Like any exercise program, most people quit early on. Guess it's good that even 22 percent are sticking with it, but still. Any Wii Fit owners out there? Do you use Wii Fit faithfully everyday?
Just because Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G sales are waning (finally) doesn't mean that the urge to buy PSP hardware is becoming any less intense. And even though the PSP doesn't have any software showing in the top ten for the week doesn't mean that it can't continue to rule the roost on the Media Create weekly sales charts. Nintendo hardware continues to nip at its lead and we imagine fortunes will change soon.
Somewhat more surprising is the big boost that the Xbox 360 got during the week of June 23 to 29. The release of Mobile Suit Gundam: Operation: Troy certainly seems to have helped Microsoft move some hardware. They really should just rebrand the thing the Xbox RX-78-2 locally. Can't hurt.
Well, would you? Seriously. Reason we're asking is that last week Atari sought to have their name trademarked in association with “internet protocol phones” and “residential telephone apparatus composing telephones and telephone connecting units”. Before you ask, yes, that's the gaming Atari doing the trademarking, not some random, other Atari. This would be the part where we try and find a good reason the company would be bothering with this, but really, there's little salvation to be found amongst the thought of an Atari phone.
As we've seen, the Spore Creature Creator is not just about making dicks. Oh no, you can make Xbox 360 controllers, Wii-motes and DualShock 3s, too! What's more, if you're really good at making stuff, like internet human evantisin is, you can create Metal Gear Solid 4 B&B Corps. members. Above is Laughing Octopus and after the jump, Screaming Mantis. We're impressed. And slightly freaked.
If you care to remember, Jim Cameron has said that the game adaptation of his upcoming sci-fi flick - Avatar - is already running in 3D, and running in 3D on a 360. Ubisoft are the guys behind that game, but they're not the only ones looking at the tech. XNA boss Chris Satchell has said Microsoft have also been "experimenting" with stereoscopic gaming, although he's quick to stress that, as it stands, the requirement that gamers wear glasses makes the technology's widespread acceptance a thing of the future, not the present.
This Monday, July 7 is Bungie Day on Xbox Live Marketplace. What does that mean to you? Free stuff! The kind of free stuff that absolutely requires an exclamation point. While free gamerpics and a gratis theme will be available that day and that day only, it's the new map, Cold Storage, that will probably put the biggest strain on Live's servers.
The Bungie Weekly Update also points out that the Legendary Map Pack will see prices slashed, with the regularly 800 MS Points pack dropping to 600 MS Points. Community tough guy Luke Smith has all the details on what's goin' down this manic Monday, so do check out the newest update... and the "viddoc" above.
UK retailer GAME told MCV that while it might not be planning a huge pipeline of holiday titles, it plans to selectively use its distribution channels to publish undiscovered titles under its own brand name.
GAME was quick to reiterate it planned no threat to game publishers at all, and would instead seek out smaller-scale opportunities that were good fits:
“If it works commercially for GAME and helps a smaller publisher get off the ground by GAME sharing some of the risk, then we would look at it – we have a distribution channel and we can offer a service.
It's a bit of a touchy subject, because according to MCV, publishers are already none too pleased that they get absolutely zero percent of the revenues from game trade-ins at retail. The tricky circumstances are probably the reason why GAME elucidated their entire policy up-front:
'This isn’t about us doing something that threatens publishers. It is about listening to developers who may come to us with titles that may not otherwise be able to get to market.
There's little doubt that the artist line-up for Rock Band 2 is shaping up nicely. Guitar Hero is getting some nice exclusives as well. With Journey, Boston, Metallica, The Who and other top tier acts lending their tunes to the dominant rhythm games, there aren't many superstars left to cross off the list.
One of the artists that continues to elude both Activision and Harmonix is Led Zeppelin. It's been chalked up to a lengthy licensing process, but a recent write-up from the Wall Street Journal helps shed more light on the British band's absence.
According to their management, the band isn't "comfortable" giving up access to its master tapes, the very thing required to edit these things down to Rock Band and Guitar Hero ready formats.
"It ain't about the money," says Peter Mensch of Q Prime Management who handles Led Zep's interests.
In better news, the Wall Street Journal writes that hold outs like Van Halen, Steely Dan and Guns N' Roses all have "deals of varying types in the works" to bring more of their music to gamers. In far, far worse news, so are the Eagles.
Zombie romance, zombie bowling, zombie rock and roll — all key components of the next The House of the Dead. At least, that's what we can glean from Sega's whacked out promo flyer for The House of the Dead EX, a more comedic, more casual spin-off for the light gun series that brings with a foot pedal a la Time Crisis and a whole mess of crazy. Looks like some of the games in The House of the Dead EX will require just the gun, with others, like bat-thing riding requiring the use of the pedal.
Honestly, we have no idea what's going on here yet, but we like Sega has tossed on an off-kilter anime style to the whole thing. We actually liked the cel-shaded The House of the Dead III and were crushed when Sega nixed it for a more photorealistic look.
Sega is showing off the new arcade light-gun shooter at the Sega Private Show in Japan and we're anxiously awaiting more details.
I feel, as a culture, we've gotten really joyfully achievement-obsessed. We check our point scores as compulsively as we do our bank accounts, we demand to know what achievements will be available in games that aren't even out yet, and we have anticipated the launch of PS3 trophies with fervor. Fervor, I tell you.
A big part of this is so that we can show our play habits and our performance off to our buddies; seeing a My Gamercard on someone's website is like an instant badge of recognition. So it's unsurprising that a company called Playfire has rushed to be the first to create a Gamercard service for PS3 trophies (hopefully 2.4 squares away soon). It's currently in beta, and here it is!
The... trophycards? support themes, too letting you skin the cards with Killzone 2, Metal Gear Solid 4, LittleBigPlanet or SuperStardust HD.
Have you ever wondered how holiday's creep? Like the Fourth of July isn't until tomorrow, of course, but people tend to try and leave a bit early from work the day before. Some people don't go in at all. Stores close early. I keep expecting that one day all of the holidays are going to meld together and no one will ever have to work again... until we run out of, like, everything.
Do you ever celebrate the Fourth in Japan? Like freak out the neighbors by setting off firecrackers on a seemingly random day, calling up all of the stories in the region asking for watermelon. Trying to find a place to roast marshmallows? Me? I've never been a big fan of the Fourth. Fireworks just don't do it for me and I the only good watermelon is a dead watermelon in my book. We are going up to the cabin for a long weekend to get away from the heat. While my house is a bt more than a mile above sea level, my parent's cabin is more than 9,000 feet above sea level! Crazy. Even though I'm adjusted to high altitude living I still tend to get headaches for the first day or so. Must be the lack of oxygen.
Another retailer has shown that Microsoft is planning to drop the price of the Xbox 360 20GB model — formerly known as the "Pro" — to $299, as a Best Buy employee has forwarded us (obligatorily blurry) cell phone pics of an upcoming weekly ad. The model currently retails for a suggested price of $349 in the United States.
The ad, photographed off-screen from the Best Buy computer system, is said to run the week of July 13th. That matches up with previous price drop rumors from Kmart and an unnamed "major retailer."
Oh, so here's a release date for the Xbox 360 Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise! September 5th is when the follow-up in the candy-filled franchise hits — and it strikes me, you know, what an odd idea! Who'd have ever thought that reviving fandom for piñatas, that semi-relic toy we used to bash as candy-crazed youngsters (you don't really see 'em anymore, huh?) would make such a decent idea for a gardening/breeding/life sim?
Anyway, Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise adds 30 new piñata species, more co-op and gameplay modes, and the official announcement promises that Piñata Island has gotten even bigger. Crecente had a look at it recently and found that it seems to tone up what could've been seen as problem zones in the original.
Full details after the jump!
Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise Release Date and New Details Revealed Green thumbs and animal-loving gamers rejoice with the return of their favourite candy-filled creatures, hits shelves on 5th September LONDON – 3rd July 2008 - Roarios and Tigermisus and Fizzlybears, OH MY! Microsoft today announced that “Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise” will be released and on store shelves by 5th September.
With more than 30 additional new piñata species, expanded co-op options and multiple gameplay modes, “Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise” offers limitless fun for every animal-lover in the family.
Piñata Island has gotten bigger too! Now players can explore wild areas outside of the garden where they will need to bait and retrieve exotic piñata species who won’t venture into the garden on their own.
Put on your mittens and snow shoes as you brave the cold of the Pinartic where you’ll find piñatas that prefer cooler temperatures and the occasional blizzard, like Pengums and Polollybears. Or you can shed the layers and head to the sands of the Dessert Desert, where Camellos and Jameleons bask in the arid sun.
All of these new exotic piñatas will not venture into your garden willingly, so you’ll need to bait and retrieve them yourself. But you can make them feel at home right away by adding patches of snow or sand to your garden, similar to how you add grass and water.
Available exclusively on Xbox 360, “Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise” reinvigorates a colourful and engaging gaming experience. Now with full cooperative gameplay modes and various approachable difficulty settings, the “Viva Piñata” franchise opens its doors even wider with a new game that provides hours of fun for gamers of all ages, fans of the animated series and animal lovers alike.
It just looks better and better every time I see it. GameTrailers just posted their exclusive trailer for Namco Bandai's Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm for the PlayStation 3, and I have to say that this is hands-down the best looking cell-shaded game I have ever seen. The visuals that I've seen so far have even inspired me to borrow the entire anime series from a friend, so hopefully by the time the game hits in October I will understand what the hell is going on.
Your weekly Rock Band update is in a little early, thanks to tomorrow's American holiday. It's a solid one — two parts Red Hot Chili Peppers, two parts Rush, with a curious re-release in the form of "Working Man." It's listed as an "alternate-take", this time a master track and with an alternate solo. Think I'll take one copy of "Closer to the Heart" to go, please.
Red Hot Chili Peppers "Snow (Hey Oh)"
Red Hot Chili Peppers "Tell Me Baby"
Rush "Closer to the Heart"
Rush "Working Man" (alternate-take master)
Tracks are $1.99 each or 160 Microsoft Points and arrive this coming Tuesday for Xbox 360 owners, Thursday for the PlayStation 3 crowd. Thanks to Smidget for the quick tip.
GamesRadar got the first look at the recently-announced, retro-style Mega Man 9 that's heading exclusively to Wii Ware - here are plenty of screens, plus the news that one of the enemies is not a Something-Man, but a Splash Woman. Sweet.
GamesRadar says it's just like the "maddeningly difficult" NES games of the early '90s, but that "there are a few extra touches that acknowledge what later games brought to the series."
Hit the jump for screens and to learn who you'll encounter:
Galaxy Man: level consists of portals that fling Mega Man all around the level, maintaining his momentum with each fling (a lot like Portal, actually), plus enemies that divide into multiple copies of themselves.
Plug Man: home to the required "disappearing block" puzzle
Hornet Man: bees, lots of bees
Jewel Man: there are swings here that you have to move with built-up momentum - we had to try it several times before we could make the jumps
Magma Man: lava and plenty of one-hit-kill beams
Concrete Man: the Guts Man of Mega Man 9
Tornado Man: scourge of the Midwest has one of the hardest levels with tons of mid-air leaps and spinning platforms
Splash Woman: yes, a woman robot master. Level features a hovering bubble puzzle we saw in Mega Man 5. One of the masters designed by Inafune himself
Now's your chance, World of Warcraft players! The Wrath of the Lich King beta opt-in button under account management on the World of Warcraft web page is now eagerly awaiting your forceful mouse button click. Yes, just one click is all it takes to throw your name into the very large hat Blizzard will pick from to determine beta participants. No word on when the beta itself will start, but I doubt they'd make the opt-in button live and get everyone excited if it wasn't happening anytime soon.
What are you waiting for? Head over there and signup! Considering the number of WoW players located in the United States and Europe, you might want to stop by the gas station for some lottery tickets while your at it, just to experience more favorable odds.
Out with the old, in with the NEW. The weekly Media Create sales chart is packed with new Japanese releases, with Derby Stallion DS snatching first place from Tales of Symphonia. It's a big week for the Wii and Nintendo DS overseas, as a ton of new titles for Nintendo's hardware platforms sell and sell big.
This week's chart is potentially less good news for the PSP, as two of its big sellers — Super Robot Taisen A Portable and Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G — fall out of the top ten. Will this spell the end to PSP hardware dominance in Japan?
01. Derby Stallion DS (DS) - 148,000 / NEW 02. Tales of Symphonia: Knight of Ratatosk (Wii) - 137,000 / NEW 03. Daigasso! Band Brothers DX (DS) - 120,000 / NEW 04. Hisshou Pachinko * Pachi-Slot Kouryaku Series DS Vol. 12: CR Neon Genesis Evangelion - Shito, Futatabi (PS2) - 55,000 / NEW 05. Higurashi no Nakukoru ni Kizuna: Dai-Ichi-Kan - Tatari (DS) - 42,000 / NEW 06. Wii Fit (Wii) - 34,000 / 2,292,000 07. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3) - 34,000 / 566,000 08. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) - 31,000 / 1,508,000 09. Mario Super Sluggers (Wii) - 31,000 / 89,000 10. Mobile Suit Gundam: Operation: Troy (Xbox 360) - 28,000 / NEW
11. Ken to Mahou to Gakuen Mono (PSP) 12. Sengoku Basara X (PS2) 13. Super Robot Taisen A Portable (PSP) 14. Bleach: The 3rd Phantom (DS) 15. The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match (PS2) 16. DS Bimoji Training (DS) 17. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP) 18. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball Portable 3 (PSP) 19. Battlefield: Bad Company (Xbox 360) 20. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness (DS) 21. Ookami to Koushinryou: Boku to Horo no Ichinen (DS) 22. Bokura no Telebi Game Kentei (DS) 23. Wii Sports (Wii) 24. Aria the Origination: Aoi Wakusei no El Cielo (PS2) 25. World Neverland Olerud Okoku Monogatari & Pluto Kyouwakoku Monogatari 2 in 1 Portable (PSP) 26. The Tower DS (DS) 27. Taiko Drum Master DS: Seven Island Adventure (DS) 28. Pro Yakyuu Team o Tsukurou! (DS) 29. Wii Play (Wii) 30. DS Yamamura Misa Suspense: Maiko Kogiku - Kisha Katherine - Sougiya Isa Akashi - Koto ni Maru Hana Sanrin: Kyoto Satujin Jinken File (DS)
Following CVG's report that Take-Two might close the doors on Venom Studios, its Newcastle, UK-based developer of Don King's Prizefighter and Prey, Take-Two has said in a statement that it is indeed considering layoffs, though no final decisions have been made yet.
"We are assessing the role of Venom Games in Take-Two's overall global studio system and are in a consultation with the employees of Venom in relation to possible redundancies at the studio,” the company said. “No final decision will be made until after the consultation with employees," it added.
Venom was founded in 2003 and was acquired by Take-Two in 2004 for $1.3 million.
Though Portal and BioShock were largely the critical favorites among last year's crop of titles, earning numerous industry awards apiece, the Writer's Guild of America decided to bestow its newly-created Videogame Writing Award on Dead Head Fred. Nothing against that title, but many game fans were surprised that many other more obvious candidates didn't even make the list of nominees.
The list shocked gamers — not so much for what it included, but what it left out. Sure, The Witcher and World in Conflict were written well enough, and The Simpsons Game certainly had its fair share of good jokes. But how did Crash of the Titans — the 14th Crash Bandicoot game — and PSP no-name Dead Head Fred end up on the list when Portal and BioShock, two of the best-written games ever to hit PCs, didn't?
So what was the reasoning behind the awards?
The logic behind the list, explains Jacobs, is that writers had to be members of the WGA's New Media Caucus to be nominated. But few writers in the industry currently belong to the WGA, much less the Caucus.
Oh, eligibility. That makes sense. Do you think game writers will be rushing to join the association's Caucus in droves? Has Game Writing Finally Comes Of Age? [1UP]
What are you playing this weekend? On a Thursday? Sorry, but we got some independence to celebrate. That's what we'll be doing all day tomorrow instead of hunting for game cakes, posting crazy wild speculation and bringing you the freshest of Tifa hentai. We'll be shootin' guns, lighting M-80s and stuffing our fat faces with saturated fats and washing it all down with a frosty cold... well, you know. We might even find some time to do a few posts. In fact, I'm pretty sure of it.
We might even play some games! Playing through Too Human has given me a loot gathering itch that only Diablo II and/or Phantasy Star Online can scratch. Say, that reminds me. This weekend is a free Day of Defeat: Source weekend, meaning you can game on Valve's dime should you have a Steam account. Have a good one, America!
Strong video game sales, on both console and PC, helped drive retailer HMV to a 25 percent growth in their fiscal year results. The boost, the company says, will help it speed up the rollout of some fancy new stores.
HMV said its pre-tax profits rose by 25.2 per cent to £56.6m and total sales grew by 11.3 per cent. Simon Fox, the chief executive, said: "A year ago, we said this would be a year for stabilising the business, but actually it turned into a year of growth. We are only one year into the three-year turnaround strategy, but we are definitely ahead of schedule."
Fox also laid out exactly how much improving game sales had helped:
Mr Fox said HMV increased its share in the booming market for video games and technology products. These accounted for 21 per cent of total UK and Ireland sales over the year, up from just 14 per cent a year ago. Mr Fox added: "[The] games [market] is cyclical, but people expect it to be longer and stronger than previous cycles. The Wii [Fit] is a fantastic product and is still in short supply."
The revenue boost will help HMV renovate 10 to 15 more of its stores to a "next-generation" format, which will include multiplayer games and kiosks, over the coming year. The retailer says its trial stores have shown promising results thus far.
You're looking at the summer street carnival in my home stomping grounds of Spanish Harlem, New York, as seen from the top of a great big ferris wheel. I've written before about how many here face challenging economic circumstances, but during the summer, the neighborhood is quite a lovely community, especially when this carnival is in town. It becomes a favorite hangout, people set up outdoor barbecues nearby, and it's warm, fun times.
There's also a thriving gamer community here, as I've said before - as with the informal "subway survey" that Stephen Totilo shared here during his stint as guest editor, I see a lot of PSPs, primarily. Lots of people are interested in the Wii, though - and it isn't any easier to get one here than it is to score one anyplace else. When I got mine, my local game store had exactly one, and sold it at an especially high price.
So imagine my surprise when I found six Wiis in the wilds of Spanish Harlem - as prizes in one of the carnival games.
I asked the game's operator if anyone has ever won one of the Wiis, and he said that in fact, people do occasionally win video game consoles from his game stand. As you can see from the picture, there were PS3s and Xbox 360s, too - these are all empty boxes, but they correspond to actual prizes, which surprised me a little.
Interestingly, the carnival employee told me that usually, when people win a PS3 or a 360, they sell it back to him for its value in cash. When someone wins a Wii, though, they always, always keep it.
"People are always trying to buy them from me straight out," the game operator said.
And does he sell them? Never, he told me - even when people have offered him $600 or $700 for one. In case you've forgotten, we're talking about a console that retails for $249. Carnivals just want to make money, right? So why wouldn't the operator sell a Wii for $700 if someone offered?
I've always been of two minds regarding EA DICE's Battlefield series. While I've enjoyed countless hours finding creative ways to destroy my fellow players in gigantic military conflicts, overall the games lacked a certain charisma. The sort of personality and immersion that can only come from having experienced a compelling backstory to the conflict you're involved in. Just like the Metal Gear Online experience is enhanced by playing through MGS4, Battlefield needed a story mode to add a little life to the party.
Battlefield: Bad Company addresses just that issue, adding a full single-player experience to the Battlefield series, complete with colorful characters and questionable moral choices on top of the usual multiplayer mayhem. It's uncharted waters for EA DICE – lets see if they sink or swim.
Loved
Story Time: The single-player story mode isn't just a humorous chance to collect weapons and escape inept multiplayer teammates. It's effectively the best Battlefield tutorial ever, familiarizing you with the weapons and mechanics of the game before you even fire a single online shot.
Real Characters: Your single-player teammates might not be the most helpful rag-tag band of misfits, but at least they're entertaining. Monster truck-loving Haggard and Steve Buscemi-channeling Sweetwater are definitely two guys I'd love to hang with.
Go Your Own Way: The sandbox nature of the game's single-player levels make for a wide variety of ways to get from point A to point B. Want to sneak through the forest on foot? Go for it. Prefer to follow the main road in a heavily armed and armored tank? Knock yourself out. Even levels that see you piloting a tricked-out gold helicopter could theoretically be tackled by landing the copter early on and hoofing it. This makes for tons of replay value.
Ultimate Destruction: Nearly everything in Bad Company blows up real good. Buildings, sandbags, crates, etc. are only cover until hit with the right amount of firepower. Blowing away a wall with a rocket launcher to reveal the delicious candy center (and shoot them) never gets old.
Massive Multiplayer: Battlefield multiplayer has never been quite so entertaining. Splitting up large teams into four-man squads was a brilliant idea, and when your teammates are really communicating and coordinating the gameplay really shines.
Unlockable Arsenal: I really enjoyed the fact that leveling up in multiplayer gives the players unlock points, allowing them to choose which items and weapons they want to add to their arsenal as they grow. Do I want to start off with the devastating ability to call in air strikes, or should I go for the simple survivability added by the health injector? A variety of player builds leads to variety on the battlefield, which is good.
Hated
Implausible Healing: The military has a syringe you plunge into your chest that constantly brings you up to full health? Why haven't we taken over the world yet? The healing mechanic is a bit ridiculous, and coupled with the fact that you respawn exactly where you die in story mode makes the single-player game far too easy.
Real Dumb Characters: Your AI teammates in single-player are relatively useless. This isn't a squad-based game by any means, but I would have liked to think they had my back. Instead it felt like I was completely carrying them the whole way. They should have allowed me to shoot them all and take the gold for myself at the end of the game. After all, I'm the one who earned it.
My only other real qualm with Battlefield: Bad Company is the lack of any kind of co-op mode for single-player. With B Company comprised of four guys I would have liked to get my friends in on the action, but I can't really hold this against DICE. They've only just gotten the hang of the single-player experience. Maybe next time. Otherwise I found the game to be one of the more enjoyable FPS experiences I've had in quite awhile, both online and off.
Battlefield: Bad Company takes the established multiplayer excitement of the Battlefield series and adds a compelling single-player experience to create one of the most enjoyable installments of the franchise since the original.
Battlefield: Bad Company was developed by EA DICE, published by EA. Released on June 23rd on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Played single player campaign to completion at normal difficulty, rose five ranks in multiplayer.
As Luke pointed out early this morning, the report that U.S. games sales had surpassed DVD sales was bound to be misconstrued. And it was. In fact it's just plain wrong.
The folks over at Entertainment Merchants Association wrote to let us know that the $18 billion for "game sales" includes software, hardware and even accessories. While the DVD sales include, you got it, only the DVDs. The actual apples-to-apples comparison has DVD sales at $16 billion and video game sales clocking in at a meekly $8.64 billion. Even if you add that $503 million in sales the industry is no where near toppling DVD sales from its mighty high roost.
One day video games will be bigger business than music and hollywood, mark my words, but that day hasn't come yet.
July is the most anxious month for the independent roster editors devoted to Electronic Arts’ NCAA Football franchise. No matter what the game adds each year, promising an ever richer pageant of college football, it falls to these writers to add in the basic identities of the game’s performers, because NCAA amateurism rules forbid EA from including them. That leaves it to these roster editors and those they employ — some working on devkits in India — to hand-enter more than 8,000 players, across 120 teams. The task requires 20-hour workdays and contrivances to get advance copies of the game, all to complete a labor of love that only the most detail-oriented model railroader could ever hope to understand.
But Brian Kaldenberg, in a way, defies that altruistic mode. He sees NCAA rosters also as a very profitable business, and that makes him one of the most despised figures in a community where reputation and motive have as much currency as the accuracy of one’s work. In message boards and private conversation, Kaldenberg is routinely accused of plagiarism, arrogance, and deceitful practices. But with a combination of thick skin, patience and guile, he has become probably the most successful of anyone who sells NCAA rosters for more than a suggested donation. And Wednesday, sending more shockwaves through a jittery community, he acquired another leading NCAA roster domain, thus unifying the top three URLs returned for a search of “NCAA rosters” on Google.
“It’s hard for me to understand why they care so much that I sell it,” says Kaldenberg, 25, who since the last release of NCAA Football has managed to make acquisitions of his top two, hostile competitors — fkrosters.com and DT Linder’s PSXSports. “I think it’s because I was not the pioneer. The pioneers definitely are DT and FK. Then I came along and did it differently and made a lot more money.”
Kaldenberg’s replacement of PSXSports’ front with an image of a Monopoly board, for the time being, may also illustrate the acid relationships he has with others. He insists that was a wink-and-nod to Linder, who had likened PSXSports and Kaldenberg’s original Gamerosters.com to keystone properties in the popular boardgame. But others see it as a message that Kaldenberg is coming to drive out any roster editor, for profit or otherwise. And they care about Kaldenberg’s profit motive because for them, NCAA Football is a goose whose golden egg is not money, but the ability to freely change any or all of the names in sports gaming’s deepest universe.
“We’re concerned that if sites keep charging for rosters, the NCAA may ask EA to pull the editing feature,” says Chris Jacobs, a site admin for freeNCAA09rosters.com, a free counter-site to Kaldenberg’s for-profit empire. “The game would be ruined if we were stuck with HB #15 all year.”
On that sentiment, all agree. No college sports title releases with any current player’s name or likeness, thanks to NCAA bylaws. In professional sports simulations, where superstars opted out of collective deals and refused to allow their likenesses to be used, a few absences are nettlesome. To have not just an entire league, but the largest league of any (and March Madness’ 341 teams is even larger) makes gaming with and without complete roster files a night-and-day experience.
Thus sprouted the community of roster editing, with Linder among its progenitors. (Kotaku attempted to reach Linder before the sale of PSXSports but he did not reply. Efforts through others didn’t return a comment before this article was originally posted.) And despite well sourced ventures such as Kaldenberg’s and his closest competitor, Nick Cain’s Sportrosters.com, the free roster community could only be beaten if editing were killed altogether. They make their product first for themselves, then share it to others, and are apathetic about its profitability or market potential.
“I’ve had people volunteer to help me and say that we could work nonstop on the roster file,” said Victor Vasquez, who owned fkrosters.com before selling it to Kaldenberg in December, then reconstituted his efforts on fairdale-kings.com.“But I know only how accurate my work is. I know the homework that I put into this file every year.”
Kaldenberg began with Gamerosters.com in 2004 while a junior at Iowa State University, and approaches it as much as a businessman as he does a fan. He appreciates the value added by a strong roster file (gaming with rival Iowa — he lives in Iowa City — when he plays online) but also foresees the potential in the business and an end-game. “My ultimate idea is to grow the Gamerosters portfolio to the point a gaming site or gaming e-tailer makes me an offer I can’t turn down,” Kaldenberg says, claiming he received a six-figure bid last spring but “I just didn’t feel like it was the right time yet.”
Some might think the right time has come and gone. The addition of the EA Locker feature to this year’s NCAA football game, depending on your point of view, is either pro- or con-roster editing. Through the EA Locker, Xbox 360 and PS3 gamers may share roster files freely across the network. That sets up a competing viral spread of three roster types, none of which can be monetized:
• Fully researched and edited rosters bought by the community (Kaldenberg’s)
• Rosters which are the same in content, but distributed for free or a donation (Fairdale-Kings and freeNCAA09rosters)
• or incomplete, fan-oriented rosters built by individual players which are tailored to specific schools or conferences and contain inaccuracies or wholesale omissions elsewhere.
Working in Kaldenberg’s favor is the number of offline-only players who want rosters. Custom rosters were only available for use online beginning with last year’s title, meaning a large group of players who only game in offline modes, like dynasty or campus legend, care only for accurate rosters and neither need them online nor seek them out there. Also, EA Locker is available for free on PS3, but only through XBox Live Gold on that platform, representing a separate barrier. Vasquez, his adversary, himself agrees that there are more offline gamers than online.
Also, Kaldenberg trusts in a consumer instinct built on the notion that someone offering a product in a free market has a business motivation to provide an accurate and superior, product. It’s the same reason you wouldn’t buy discount meat off the back of a truck. “People are willing to pay for what we offer and pay for the peace of mind knowing they are getting a quality product,” Kaldenberg says. “Similar to how people are willing to shell out $60 for a steak at Ruth’s Chris.”
Kaldenberg won’t divulge specifics, but says he has served close to 10,000 customers since 2004, seeing his year-over-year demand double in each of the last three years. (Vasquez boasted he had more than 20,000 registered users when he ran the site, some of whom have migrated to fairdale-kings.com)
Kaldenberg’s operation requires seasonal employees — working on a PS3, PS2 and Xbox set up in an office — and a full-time business operations manager (the business also manages rosters for March Madness and other titles). But such growth has yet to attract the notice of the NCAA. “No one from the NCAA or EA sports has ever contacted me regarding roster editing,” says Kaldenberg, who has sought legal opinions regarding his exposure in his current venture.
Truth is, EA may not need to sue anyone out of existence, especially if that risks destroying a feature the majority of its installation base adores. If it can tip the balance so that works that are both complete and free win out on its network, that returns roster editing to the community of nonprofit enthusiasts and eliminates those making money off the NCAA or its amateurs’ likenesses. Jacobs and others see such an advantage being tacitly swayed to nonprofit editors.
“Our site is part of the EA Community Leaders program, and privately, we were told that they don’t like people charging for rosters,” Jacobs said. “Hence the EA Locker feature in NCAA 09.”
For its part, EA did not respond to an emailed request seeking comment. Roster editors say this is not a surprise: the ability to edit a roster is a content feature any publisher would, reasonably, not want to give up. In this case, discussing it inevitably acknowledges the cottage industry, for profit or otherwise, that provides gamers with full rosters against NCAA wishes. The less EA reacts, the less the situation is under its control, and the less it is accountable to its licensing partner.
Kaldenberg, if nothing else, is resilient and adaptable. His own record with his rivals proves that. In December, he won fkrosters.com through a third-party offering process. Vasquez, the site’s owner, says he didn’t know who was buying the site until the offer (made through GoDaddy) was accepted. Kaldenberg says Vasquez had every opportunity to reject the sale after learning of his bid.
Kaldenberg said Linder reached out to him late last year, offering him control of both the “Park Place and Boardwalk,” of roster mod domains, and hence the reason for the Monopoly board on PSXSports on Wednesday. An original package price of $16,000 in December eventually winnowed to $7,000 in June, said Kaldenberg. Linder, reached Thursday, said he offered the site because he was competing in a saturated broader market serving sports gamers, and wanted to rebrand his efforts in the roster-only space. To that end he launched EArosters.com on Thursday, his fourth URL since beginning his roster efforts in 2001. Linder said both sides reached an agreeable settlement. "Brian and I are both competitors and I certainly appreciated his sense of humor," about the Monopoly board on his old URL, Linder said. "Brian purchased Park Place and Boardwalk, but he has to worry about people landing on Marvin Gardens or Pennsylvania Ave first. I just placed hotels on my green and yellow monopolies." But if anything, Kaldenberg's survival in a cutthroat business environment has taught him valuable business lessons that many 25-year-olds don’t experience firsthand.
“I’ve learned to turn a deaf ear,” Kaldenberg said. “People say bad things about you, and I used to fight it and get upset, and then I'd just see it make matters worse. I’ve matured since my younger days, and I stay away from internet message board controversies. Customer service is more important. If a customer has a question or needs assistance, it’s much more important for me to spend my time responding to customers than to respond to someone criticizing me on another website.”
Kaldenberg’s largest for-profit competitor, Nick Cain’s sportrosters.com, remains somewhat above the fray and agnostic about the fate of for-profit roster editing. Cain, who only became interested in NCAA football because he found the gameplay more engaging than EA’s Madden series, said roster editing represents only 2 percent of a business portfolio that has included poker applications and adult business ventures.
Cain says Kaldenberg also approached him about buying sportrosters.com, but refused after being put off by the negotiating style.
“He bragged about his revenue,” said Cain, himself a coder who outsources his roster work to Indian writers working on console development kits. “We’ll I don’t bank on this money. This is funny money to me. I spend an hour a day maintaining my web sales. He can put up monopoly boards all day. But if EA Sports closes the door, well, it was fun while it lasted.”
A day after taking their 2.40 firmware update for the Playstation 3 down after message boards lit up with people complaining of sporadic problems with the software, Sony Computer Entertainment says that they are now assessing the issue and will put the update back up once they have solved the problems.
“We are aware of a number of consumers experiencing an issue with installing firmware 2.40 on PS3. While our consumer services department has seen a low volume of calls on this topic, we are committed to enabling the community and XMB access features delivered in the 2.40 update. In order to further assess the issue, we have temporarily taken the firmware offline for further testing. We are working diligently to isolate the problem for those few consumers and to identify a solution before we put the firmware back up.”
We are still waiting to hear back from SCEA about what sort of solution they may be able to provide to those who have already updated their firmware and are having problems. If you're adventurous, some gamers have already come up with their own solution.
Sony says that once a solution is found they will make sure to update the official Playstation Blog with the information.
Like me, many of you folks drooled over the mere idea of the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational exclusive Archangel Tyrael pet for World of Warcraft. Now we get to see the little guy who'll have players /telling the lucky recipients with "Were'd u get tht?" from now until the end of time. Blizzard just updated the WoW build on the public test realms, and the nice folks at MMO Champion rooted around in there until they came up with these images of the in-game model for the Diablo II (and presumably III) star.
I want one. Strike that, I need one. My soul cries out for it, but not so badly that I am willing to spend more than of $600 to snag one off of eBay. I'll just use the old model-swapping technique. Sure, no one else will see him and he'll make panda noises, but the screenshots will be fantastic.
July is Ninja Month! So says Xbox Live, which now randomly sports a Ninja Live ad which takes you to ninja paradise. Well, not exactly ninja paradise. In ninja paradise, you'd all be dead. Instead, you get links to ninja movies and television shows, ninja games, ninja style, and this particular Ninja Gaiden II page, which displays the dates for new Ninja Gaiden II content. July 11th sees the release of NGII Skull videos, and then on the 25th the game gets its Mission Mode on righteously.
I personally want to thank Microsoft for making Ninja Month every bit as special as they did Pirate Month. Oh wait, there wasn't a Pirate Month, now was there? FACE!
It's a real-time strategy game. It's a first-person shooter. It's both! SouthPeak Games has just announced Raven Squad, an RTS/FPS hybrid under development by Atomic Motion for the PC and Xbox 360. Unlike S2's Savage series, which allows players to chose which role they want to take, Raven Squad requires players to master both FPS and RTS gameplay in order to guide their two mercenary squads through enemy lines in the Amazonian jungles.
“Raven Squad combines two extremely popular genres into a single robust experience where either gameplay mode could stand on its own merits,” said Melanie Mroz, CEO of SouthPeak Games. “Atomic Motion is creating something that’s visually compelling and building new boundaries in what a military title can accomplish. Fans of both RTS and FPS games are going to love it, as will anyone who enjoys intense, action titles.”
I don't know. I generally have to be in the mood for one genre or the other. I'll have to see how things pan out as Raven Squad gets closer to its planned fall release.
RAVEN SQUAD TO BREAK THE RTS MOLD ON XBOX 360 AND WINDOWS PC THIS FALL
Real-Time Strategy Melded with First-Person Shooter to Create Completely Unique Gaming Experience
MIDLOTHIAN, VA – July 03, 2008 – SouthPeak Games today announced that it will distribute Raven Squad: Operation Hidden Dagger for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft® and Windows PC this fall. Published by Evolved Games, Raven Squad is set in the near future. The game is a unique blending of real-time strategy and first-person shooter genres.
Developed by Atomic Motion, Raven Squad puts players in control of two groups of mercenary squads who crash land behind enemy lines in the Amazonian jungles. It will require tactical planning and a liberal amount of brute force to escape to safety. Each of the eight squad members possesses distinctive skills and weaponry that the player will have to use wisely to progress through the game’s story driven objectives. Raven Squad sets itself apart by allowing players to switch freely between real-time strategy and first-person shooter gameplay. Only by mastering both of these modes of play, and becoming adept at switching between the two, will players make it out of the jungle alive.
“Raven Squad combines two extremely popular genres into a single robust experience where either gameplay mode could stand on its own merits,” said Melanie Mroz, CEO of SouthPeak Games. “Atomic Motion is creating something that’s visually compelling and building new boundaries in what a military title can accomplish. Fans of both RTS and FPS games are going to love it, as will anyone who enjoys intense, action titles.”
To find out more about Raven Squad please visit www.southpeakgames.com.
Digital Extremes, the team behind such mediocre titles as Dark Sector, Pariah and Extreme Pinball, have signed on to help optimize Bioshock for the Playstation 3. To be fair, DE did also produce the fair to middling Unreal Tournament 2003, and they do have a way with death frisbees.
The game is still behind developed by 2K Marin, 2K Boston and 2K Australia, so it's unclear how much impact the inclusion of a fourth cook in the kitchen will actually have on the game.
"When 2K approached us to assist with development on BioShock for the PLAYSTATION 3 system, it was a no-brainer," said James Schmalz, CEO and founder of Digital Extremes. "You really can't ask for a more exciting, technically impressive world to work in than Rapture, and the incredible knowledge and talent between the 2K studios and our team at Digital Extremes is unprecedented. The collaboration on this project will make the PLAYSTATION 3 system sing with Big Daddy goodness and Little Sister 'thank you's'."
Just so they don't top their chorus off with Hayden Tenno emo sucktitude, it'll be fine.
2K Games Announces Partnership with Digital Extremes
Premier Development Studio Tapped to Optimize BioShock® for the PLAYSTATION®3 System
New York, NY – July 3, 2008 – 2K Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), announced today that it has signed an agreement with Digital Extremes to assist in the development of BioShock® for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. Shipping to retailers in October 2008 with new features and content, the PLAYSTATION 3 system version of BioShock is being developed by 2K Marin, 2K Boston, 2K Australia and Digital Extremes.
"By partnering with Digital Extremes, 2K Games is delivering a fully optimized experience that takes advantage of the PLAYSTATION 3 system hardware," said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. "Bringing Digital Extremes on board allows us to continue to deliver the best experience possible to our fans."
Headquartered in London, Ontario, Digital Extremes brings more than 15 years of experience as one of the gaming industry's premier developers. Digital Extremes pioneered technological and graphical design within the video gaming industry as the co-creators of Epic Games' Unreal® franchise. Using the experience it gained from working on the recently released Dark Sector®, Digital Extremes is partnering with the 2K studios to help optimize BioShock's performance on the PLAYSTATION 3 system.
"When 2K approached us to assist with development on BioShock for the PLAYSTATION 3 system, it was a no-braine
The Xbox 360 DualShock? The PS3 Xbox 360 Controller? Over at Xbox-Scene Forums, moderator RDC has modded an Xbox 360 controller into a PS3 controller, writing: "The D-pad, Select, PS, Start, Square, Triangle, Circle, Cross, L1/R1 and L3/R3 buttons are all wired up right now and working, as are the LEDs for showing which controller it is." So, yes, this Frankencontroller will work with a PS3. And if that wasn't enough, RDC did the same in reverse by modding a DualShock 3 into an Xbox 360 controller. Take a look after the jump.
For a game built upon endless repetition, Brain Training's certainly making an impression on some people, because years on from release, the two games are still selling like fancy, heated cakes. So Nintendo are surely working on more, yes? Itprintsmoney.gif and all that? No. Having most likely noticed the fact people can't tell the two games apart, and still buy more of the original than the sequel, it's been announced by Nintendo (grain of salt notice: Nintendo Europe) that two will do, and they'll just keep on selling them for millennia until our sun expands, killing us all in a blinding flash of white.
The more people buy PS3s, the more people sign up to the the PSN. The more people sign up to the PSN, the more it costs Sony to keep the thing running. So will there come a time when Sony start charging you for the use of the PSN? Maybe! You can never rule that kinda thing out. But if they are, they're not doing it soon, with PSN boss (and man of the moment) Eric Lempel saying:
If you're in the mood to spend your Independence Day with some Battlefield: Bad Company trailers, this update has your name written all over it. It's also got Top Gun and FREE written all over it, as Guitar Hero III owners get a track for nothin'. Rock Band owners, you get a freebie, too. There's little that's playable this week, but the PlayStation Store is just stuffed with trailers. Pity then that two of them are for the PlayStation 3 port of Vampire Rain. Move along for the full update.
How many Tales games are already on their way? Dunno. We've lost count. Especially now that we know there are two more coming, one for the PSP, one for the DS. The PSP one's called Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2, which will feature the same main character as the upcoming Tales of Vesperia for the 360. The DS one's called Tales of The Heart (pictured). Both will be out in Japan by the end of the year, no word yet on Western dates.
Wii Fit has done big business in Japan — and pretty much everywhere, for that matter. The peripheral and game went on sale late last year in The Land of the Rising Sun, and Japanese website IT Media poses the question: Do Wii Fit owners actually still play Wii Fit everyday? Short answer: Nope. According to the thousand IT Media readers polled (for whatever that's worth), the majority of them do not play their copies of Wii Fit (ditto). Here's the breakdown:
Just because Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G sales are waning (finally) doesn't mean that the urge to buy PSP hardware is becoming any less intense. And even though the PSP doesn't have any software showing in the top ten for the week doesn't mean that it can't continue to rule the roost on the Media Create weekly sales charts. Nintendo hardware continues to nip at its lead and we imagine fortunes will change soon.
Well, would you? Seriously. Reason we're asking is that last week Atari sought to have their name trademarked in association with “internet protocol phones” and “residential telephone apparatus composing telephones and telephone connecting units”. Before you ask, yes, that's the gaming Atari doing the trademarking, not some random, other Atari. This would be the part where we try and find a good reason the company would be bothering with this, but really, there's little salvation to be found amongst the thought of an Atari phone.
If you care to remember, Jim Cameron has said that the game adaptation of his upcoming sci-fi flick - Avatar - is 
UK retailer GAME told MCV that while it might not be planning a huge pipeline of holiday titles, it plans to selectively use its distribution channels to 
There's little doubt that the artist line-up for Rock Band 2 is shaping up nicely. Guitar Hero is getting some nice exclusives as well. With Journey, Boston, Metallica, The Who and other top tier acts lending their tunes to the dominant rhythm games, there aren't many superstars left to cross off the list.
Zombie romance, zombie bowling, zombie rock and roll — all key components of the next The House of the Dead. At least, that's what we can glean from Sega's whacked out promo flyer for The House of the Dead EX, a more comedic, more casual spin-off for the light gun series that brings with a foot pedal a la Time Crisis and a whole mess of crazy. Looks like some of the games in The House of the Dead EX will require just the gun, with others, like bat-thing riding requiring the use of the pedal.
I feel, as a culture, we've gotten really joyfully achievement-obsessed. We check our point scores as compulsively as we do our bank accounts, we demand to know what achievements will be available in games that aren't even out yet, and we have anticipated the launch of PS3 trophies with fervor. Fervor, I tell you. 
Another retailer has shown that Microsoft is planning to drop the price of the Xbox 360 20GB model — formerly known as the "Pro" — to $299, as a Best Buy employee has forwarded us (obligatorily blurry) cell phone pics of an upcoming weekly ad. The model currently retails for a suggested price of $349 in the United States.
Oh, so here's a release date for the Xbox 360 Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise! September 5th is when the follow-up in the candy-filled franchise hits — and it strikes me, you know, what an odd idea! Who'd have ever thought that reviving fandom for piñatas, that semi-relic toy we used to bash as candy-crazed youngsters (you don't really see 'em anymore, huh?) would make such a decent idea for a gardening/breeding/life sim?
Your weekly Rock Band update is in a little early, thanks to tomorrow's American holiday. It's a solid one — two parts Red Hot Chili Peppers, two parts Rush, with a curious re-release in the form of "Working Man." It's listed as an "alternate-take", this time a master track and with an alternate solo. Think I'll take one copy of "Closer to the Heart" to go, please.
Now's your chance, World of Warcraft players! The Wrath of the Lich King beta opt-in button under account management on the World of Warcraft web page is now eagerly awaiting your forceful mouse button click. Yes, just one click is all it takes to throw your name into the very large hat Blizzard will pick from to determine beta participants. No word on when the beta itself will start, but I doubt they'd make the opt-in button live and get everyone excited if it wasn't happening anytime soon. 
Out with the old, in with the NEW. The weekly Media Create sales chart is packed with new Japanese releases, with Derby Stallion DS snatching first place from Tales of Symphonia. It's a big week for the Wii and Nintendo DS overseas, as a ton of new titles for Nintendo's hardware platforms sell and sell big.
Though Portal and BioShock were largely the critical favorites among last year's crop of titles, earning numerous industry awards apiece, the Writer's Guild of America decided to bestow its newly-created Videogame Writing Award on 
What are you playing this weekend? On a Thursday? Sorry, but we got some independence to celebrate. That's what we'll be doing all day tomorrow instead of hunting for game cakes, posting crazy wild speculation and bringing you the freshest of Tifa hentai. We'll be shootin' guns, lighting M-80s and stuffing our fat faces with saturated fats and washing it all down with a frosty cold... well, you know. We might even find some time to do a few posts. In fact, I'm pretty sure of it.
Strong video game sales, on both console and PC, helped drive retailer HMV to a 25 percent growth in their fiscal year results. The boost, the company says, will help it speed up the rollout of some fancy new stores.
You're looking at the summer street carnival in my home stomping grounds of Spanish Harlem, New York, as seen from the top of a great big ferris wheel. I've 
I asked the game's operator if anyone has ever won one of the Wiis, and he said that in fact, people do occasionally win video game consoles from his game stand. As you can see from the picture, there were PS3s and Xbox 360s, too - these are all empty boxes, but they correspond to actual prizes, which surprised me a little.
I've always been of two minds regarding EA DICE's Battlefield series. While I've enjoyed countless hours finding creative ways to destroy my fellow players in gigantic military conflicts, overall the games lacked a certain charisma. The sort of personality and immersion that can only come from having experienced a compelling backstory to the conflict you're involved in. Just like the Metal Gear Online experience is enhanced by playing through MGS4, Battlefield needed a story mode to add a little life to the party.
As Luke 
July is the most anxious month for the independent roster editors devoted to Electronic Arts’ 
A day after 
Like me, many of you folks drooled over the mere idea of the 
July is Ninja Month! So says Xbox Live, which now randomly sports a Ninja Live ad which takes you to ninja paradise. Well, not exactly ninja paradise. In ninja paradise, you'd all be dead. Instead, you get links to ninja movies and television shows, ninja games, ninja style, and this particular Ninja Gaiden II page, which displays the dates for new Ninja Gaiden II content. July 11th sees the release of NGII Skull videos, and then on the 25th the game gets its Mission Mode on righteously.
It's a real-time strategy game. It's a first-person shooter. It's both! SouthPeak Games has just announced Raven Squad, an RTS/FPS hybrid under development by Atomic Motion for the PC and Xbox 360. Unlike S2's Savage series, which allows players to chose which role they want to take, Raven Squad requires players to master both FPS and RTS gameplay in order to guide their two mercenary squads through enemy lines in the Amazonian jungles.
Digital Extremes, the team behind such 