There are sure a lot of "best of lists" coming out of the woodwork now since the year is beginning to come to a close. And not surprisingly, many of the lists read basically the same. Many of the games that are on those lists are definitely must play games (Super Mario Galaxy, Call of Duty 4, The Orange Box), but whatever happened to the other games that were fantastic throughout the year like World in Conflict, Persona 3, or Lunar Knights to name a few. With just an avalanche of triple A titles hitting us at the end of the year, many excellent games were overshadowed by the sheer amount of press coverage and excellent PR campaigns that were given to those games that were at the top of those 2007 lists. So here are the games that are the ones that have been forgotten because they came out early in the year or worse, never got the credit that they deserved in the first place.
The Xbox360 games in the list:
02) Eternal Sonata (Xbox 360)
10) Overlord (PC; Xbox 360)
14) Bomberman Live (Xbox 360)
16) Virtua Tennis 3 (PC, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Sony PSP)
In Spokane, Washington, a 20-year-old man was arrested on felony stalking charges after chatting to a 15-year-old girl on Xbox Live and eventually threatening to rape the girl and her sister.
At around 9:00pm Friday, Stetar sent a text message saying that he was driving by her house at the moment. The girl's parents in fact saw his car drive by.
At 9:36pm, Stetar sent another text message stating, "Tell the cops that I'm gonna rape you and your sister."
The girl's father called police, and officers found the suspect staying at a nearby Econo Lodge motel.
Just as Microsoft's past year was characterized by launches, the next will be defined by a departure.
But even as Bill Gates leaves his full-time executive role, the company will be grappling with some of the biggest competitive challenges in its history, particularly on the Internet.
Here's our annual look at what to watch at the company in 2008.
* XBOX: The coming year will be pivotal in the video-game console industry, where Microsoft's Xbox 360 is competing against Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3. Entering the past holiday season, the Xbox 360 and Wii were neck-and-neck in worldwide market share, with the PlayStation 3 trailing.
Microsoft has said it wants its Home and Entertainment Division, which includes the Xbox business, to reach sustained operating profitability in the company's current fiscal year, which ends June 30.
We know we don't need to tell you guys this, but Metal Gear Solid 4 coming to the Xbox 360 is still a rumor despite gaming site Xbox Family saying, rather unequivocally, "Metal Gear Solid 4 is coming to the Xbox 360. This is not a rumor." Well, duh ... it's a rumorang.
With that caveat out of the way (and stowed safely in a locker somewhere), we'll proceed to relay the rumorang your way: An unnamed Konami rep apparently dropped some knowledge on Xbox Family, whispering that MGS4 would sneak onto the Xbox 360 12 to 14 months after the PS3 version is released (whenever that is). The site also published a lengthy email from Microsoft's John Porcaro basically saying "no comment" which they also suspect may be further proof of the rumor. (Why did he write so much? He's very polite, you know.)
With Konami execs straight up saying that Metal Gear Solid 4 may go to other consoles, and MGS4 producer Ryan Payton saying the game needs to sell a million copies on day one to make the pricey production profitable, it's not like Konami's showing their best poker face either. But that doesn't mean it's not still a rumor which, of course, we don't need to tell you guys.
Considering it's due on the Mac in early 2008, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the on-again, off-again Xbox 360 port of Epic's Unreal Tournament III isn't "on hold" any longer, and may even be as far along as 90% complete – if we're to believe a scanned image from a German gaming magazine. Our German is a bit rusty (read: nonexistent) but the folks from ********** are saying the release is expected sometime around April of next year.
If accurate, that means the PS3 enjoys a four-or-so-month timed exclusivity, including the lucrative holiday season. Now, if only those pesky sales would pick up ...
This Sunday will mark the end of an era: Bill Gates is going to deliver his final CES keynote in Las Vegas. Nevertheless, the rumor mill continues to churn, unwilling or unable to pause briefly and reflect on the legac ...
... whoa, sorry about that. On to the rumor du jour: Seattle Times staff columnist Brier Dudley speculates that Microsoft "may be preparing to license the Xbox gaming platform to consumer-electronics companies." While you look up 3DO on Wikipedia (we'll help you out), we'll continue with the specifics of this speculation. Dudley envisions a Toshiba-built 'box bundling "a digital video recorder with a hard-drive, high-definition HD-DVD drive and Xbox gaming capabilities." Alternatively, Microsoft could forgo the licensing and bundle that HD DVD drive themselves "putting it on par with Sony's PlayStation 3 that has a built-in Blu-ray drive."
The rumors regarding an integrated HD DVD drive have been swirling about for some time (Toshiba says "no comment"), so Dudley could be basing his speculation on the old "where there's smoke, there's fire" adage. Guess we'll know soon enough.
The Xbox360 has apart from Japan positioned itself as the true hardcore gamers console with many fantastic games coming from the console, on the hacking and homebrew front the breakthrough still hasnt been reached so to all fans heres a question for you !
What are your Hopes for the Xbox 360 both in Homebrew and the Commercial Arena ?
We're well aware the first three words on the Xbox Live service status box are "up and running," but those issues are continuing to persist, and if our flooded tip jar and the Xbox Live forums are anything to go by, they're probably not just "intermittent". If you're (still) seeing issues, as always feel free to shout it out, as well as hit our poll so we can keep track of just how severe this stuff is. (So far, of those polled who've been trying to use Live, roughly 75% responded that they've been experiencing moderate to severe issues.)
Your friend and ours, Xbox Live, has been going through some tough times lately. In the past week, the service that many of us pay roughly $50 a year for has been up and down more frequently than a bipolar groundhog. If you want to tap right into a live feed of the Xbox Live operation, Apollo 13 style, sign up for Major Nelson's Twitter feed, which has devolved into a play by play of the network's status (last update: "Things were a bit wonky, but they appear to be getting better.").
But, since many of us are paying for the privilege, there's a growing sense that we deserve some sort of compensation. While we at Joystiq won't be satisfied until Bill Gates himself writes us each a check for $1, TheBitbag.com claims that an Xbox insider told them: "we will definitely be doing something for our Gold members that weren't able to get online over the last week." Though we can't be certain precisely what that is, our inside sources are telling us "footrubs."
A new rumor has appeard, that the infamous PC game Crysis, will be coming to the Xbox 360! This rumor comes from the fact that a Austrian Video Game retailer has listed Crysis, in 2 variants as a upcoming game for the 360. Wheater this is true, or just a typo, no one really knows at the moment. This could also be supported by the fact that a few months ago Cryteck, the makers of Crysis, became a offically licensed Xbox 360 developer.
Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed has finished 2007 at the top of the UK's all formats charts with a drop of only 7 per cent in sales.
Electronic Arts' FIFA 08 missed out on the top spot by around 1000 sales, for the week ended December 31.
The Christmas number one, Activision's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, has slipped down the charts to number three with a 37 per cent decline in sales.
Sales of EA's The Simpsons Game fell by 24 per cent as it dropped one place to number four, while Need for Speed Pro Street stays at number five, with sales down 23 per cent.
The only game in the top ten to see sales increase for the period was Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2008, as the game moved up the charts from number 13 to number six.
THQ's WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2008 is at seven, Nintendo's More Brain Training is at eight, Activision's Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock at nine and Sega's The Golden Compass enters the top ten at ten.
Welcome yourself back to work today by downloading Metal Slug 3 from Xbox Live Arcade - as said in a Somerfield-advert-like way.
It will set you back 800 Microsoft Points (GBP 6.80 / EUR 9.30) and lets you enjoy the old run and gun title in fancy new high definition resolutions and with a friend in co-operative online multiplayer.
Other than that and the usual spattering of 12 Achievements, the blend of platform action remains the same; filled with vehicles called Slugs to parade around in as quartet of heroes Marco, Tarma, Eri and Fio battle to stop evil General Morden from doing dastardly things.
Those of you in the US and Canada will also be able to enjoy SpongeBob SquarePants Underpants Slam! today, you lucky devils, and we will let you know as soon as we do when us Europeans can experience it.
The first details have been spotted on the official Gears of War prequel, which is unfortunately (for Gears fans, who are surely not big readers) in book form.
Gears of War: The Pendulum Wars - The Battle of Aspho Fields (we were hoping for a longer title) is being penned by former games journo Steven Kent of Next-Gen.biz and USA Today fame.
According to the official blurb, The Battle Aspho Fields "builds upon the characters backstories and gives eager fans their first in-depth look at some of the past events that shaped the games world." We'll finally know what the hell Aspho Fields was all about, then.
The book's not out until August this year, so before everyone goes mental and starts demanding more game Gears, take solitude in the fact that Gears of War 2 might already be announced by the time this book reaches the shelves. Maybe.
Microsoft has said a demo for Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom will be out in Europe in mid-January.
However, those of you in exotic reaches like Asia, Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and the US can get your mitts on the 1.2GB package already, as in now, today, right now, immediately.
Included in the sampler is a chance to battle your way through a pair of early stages from the beginning of the game as Kendal or Leinhart, using some beefed up abilities against a swathe of unique nasties.
The full action role-playing game will be out this winter, according to Microsoft Live bigwig Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, although we heard back in October that it would be in Europe on 1st February.
Unlike previous Kingdom Under Fire instalments, the idea this time is less on strategical troop choices but more on action and combinations; levelling up your heroes to do silly damage to all who oppose before doing it all again with friends on randomly generated multiplayer maps.
Better than Intimately Beckham and Intimately Beckham Night, perhaps.
The latest sales charts for Spain and Germany show strong support for the Nintendo platforms, with DS titles Dr Kawashima's Brain Training and More Brain Training coming in the top two in both countries.
The charts, compiled by Media-Control GfK International for the sales week ending December 23, also show Nintendo featuring in all top five positions in Germany, and eight of the top ten in Spain.
Wii Play, Super Mario Galaxy and Mario & Sonic at the Olympics rounded out the German top five, with Need for Speed Pro Street, FIFA 08 and High School Musical taking the next three places for the PlayStation 2.
The only other format represented was Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the Xbox 360 - meaning that neither Sony's nor Microsoft's next-gen platforms were represented at all.
That was also true in Spain, although WWE Smackdown! vs Raw 2008 and Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 were third and fourth on the PS2.
The rest of the top ten was all Nintendo, however, with four more DS titles and two Wii games.
The full charts are as follows:
Germany
1. More Brain Training with Dr Kawashima (DS)
2. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (DS)
3. Wii Play (Wii)
4. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
5. Mario & Sonic at the Olympics (Wii)
6. Need for Speed Pro Street (PS2)
7. FIFA 08 (PS2)
8. High School Musical: Sing It (PS2)
9. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC)
10. New Super Mario Bros (DS)
Spain
1. More Brain Training with Dr Kawashima (DS)
2. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (DS)
3. WWE Smackdown! vs Raw 2008 (PS2)
4. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2)
5. Eye Training (DS)
6. Wii Play (Wii)
7. Mario Party DS (DS)
8. Triiviial (Wii)
9. Imagine Babyz (DS)
10. Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
Those of you still lost in the whirlwind of Christmas will be glad to know Codemasters Online Gaming has fixed issues with Sensible World of Soccer on Xbox Live.
It actually remedied problems before Santa squeezed his way down our chimneys, but Tom had already toddled off to wrap his presents in mince pies and sing his way to the bottom of a bottle of wine by then.
If you have the old version that helpfully disconnected you from Live after installation, you should delete it from your hard drive and download the new game - this won't incur any extra charges.
Oh, and happy new year from everyone at Eurogamer. Which is to say "Tom and I", because everyone else will stumble in at about 9.30.
Mexican film director Guillermo Del Toro has been getting himself all worked up about a Halo film.
The mastermind behind Pan's Labyrinth was chatting to Aint It Cool News about various upcoming projects before declaring his fondness for the adventures of Master Chief.
"It would have been beautiful and I must tell that's a... of anything in my life that I look back and wish it could have happened is that project, because it is such a powerful experience," chirped Del Toro.
"People talk about it and say 'it's Aliens or it's a retread of this or that,' I don't think so. I think the angles to that game are far more epic and far more complex as a cosmology than that. It's not just about grunts in space. It's much more than that. It's a whole epic."
Unfortunately Del Toro has rather a lot on his plate at the moment with Hellboy 2 due sometime this year. But eventually the Mexican director believes Halo makes far too much money and is much too successful to be ignored, which makes him happy for the future.
"I love it so much that I would like to see it in any incarnation. If Neill [Blomkamp] and Peter [Jackson] get to do it, I'll be almost as happy as if I was doing it," he added.
If, like us, you've spent the last week sat in your (new) pants, polishing off the Ferrero Roche, Fosters and playing Call of Duty 4, you'll probably have noticed the downtime plaguing Xbox Live.
The "intermittent issues" (which included things like signing in, matchmaking and account recovery) started around Christmas Day and Xbox Live was still encountering the odd bugger up a week later.
Xbox Live's director of programming Larry 'Major Nelson' Hryb posted several messages on his official blog, stating that "problems like this are not acceptable," and that "things are getting better each hour and that no one on the team is going anywhere until the job is done."
Now that most of the hiccups have been sorted, The Bitbag reports that Microsoft will be compensating their paying Xbox Live Gold subscribers for the problems. An unnamed Microsoft contact told the site: "we will definitely be doing something for our Gold members that weren't able to get online over the last week."
Because Xbox Live wasn't technically down (only parts of it were encountering problems), it looks unlikely that Gold subscribers will end up with a full refund.
It's a shame some people couldn't get online during the lazy Christmas period, but it did give us a nice window to fire up the PS3 and finish Uncharted (sorry, MS).
We've contacted Microsoft UK for comment and it'll hopefully get back to us shortly.
Big hats of cynicism on, please; internet sites have gone wild with speculation that Blizzard's massive RTS StarCraft II will be making its way to Xbox 360 (and why shouldn't it? Every other strategy game seems to be going console-bound these days).
The source of the rumour is a Microsoft Retail Zone quiz, which is apparently used to educate employees of electronic retail stores, the clever bunch.
One question asks retailers which feature defines the company's upcoming RTS Universe of War, and lists "tactical dynamics create the best RTS until Starcraft II," as one of the answers.
This has naturally sent internet conspiracy theorists to their rooftops, shouting confirmation of Blizzard's RTS will be coming to Xbox 360, though we're not quite convinced.
When contacted Activision Blizzard (we suppose we'll have to get used to calling it that) expectedly offered a "no comment," on the rumour, but considering the recent flood of PC strategy games coming to consoles we guess StarCraft II on consoles is at least plausible.
Command & Conquer 3 and Supreme Commander have both taken the trip to Xbox 360 and the original StarCraft too of course made its way to N64 and PSOne back in the day.
Considering it's also one of Blizzard's less patch-heavy titles we suppose it's also its most likely to come to consoles, but it's probably far too early for this report to be any indication.
Handy internet trademark searchers have discovered that publisher Eidos has filed the name Battlestations Pacific in relation to 'computer and video game software'. It looks like a sequel to last year's Midway is on the way then.
The last game, Battlestations Midway was set in the Pacific during World War II. It mixed real-time tactics and boat-blasting action which had players commanding fleets and their assets at the same time. It was also in development for a bloody long time.
You can read the review of Battlestations Midway on PC via this here link.
Rumors of a sequel emerged earlier last year following an announcement by Eidos' parent company SCi that another game was on the way.
We've left a message with Eidos' UK outfit, who despite suffering both a hangover and flu managed to get us a "no comment". Thanks for that.
via WorthPlaying (There are many screens for every platform, click now!)
SEGA Superstars Tennis has over 15 playable SEGA idols including Sonic the Hedgehog, AiAi from Super Monkeyball fame, Ulala of Space Channel 5 and Amigo from Samba De Amigo. In addition to their own unique attributes, each character will also come equipped with their own superstar tennis skills, putting a whole new spin on each match played!
Exhibition mode offers the chance to challenge Sonic, or the character or your choice, to a match on one of many courts, including Sonic’s home court of Green Hill Zone, or Amigo’s Carnival Park court. Wherever you play there will be a host of SEGA celebrities cheering you on from courtside and by partaking in crazy doubles matches with your choice of partner, you could end up playing against some pretty unusual couples! Prove your SEGA hero is the shining star of SEGA Superstars Tennis by collecting silverware in the Tournament Mode. There will also be the opportunity to unlock a host of exciting extras which will be announced in the near future!
Complementing the Exhibition and Tournament modes, there will also be new and innovative ways of enjoying some of SEGA’s classic titles, plus platform exclusive ways to play the game, including online modes for X360 and PS3 versions!
“SEGA Superstars Tennis has the potential to be one of the most fun and accessible sports games ever.” commented Gary Knight, European Marketing Director. “The fantastic Sumo Digital team has had access to a wealth of SEGA IP and you’ll be surprised at the gaming icons that will be making an appearance!”
Available on the PS3, PS2, X360, NDS, and Wii, SEGA Superstars Tennis will release in early 2008.
How many times over the past few months have you heard that "the worst is over" and the chances of the high-def format war finally coming to a close were increasing by the day? If you haven't heard it at least once, you're probably not reading the right stories.
But with all that going on, the war is officially a quagmire for both sides and the chances of getting out of this quickly are diminishing at an astounding rate. Consider this: as it stands, the Blu-ray camp commands roughly 49 percent DVD market share, while HD DVD is trailing slightly behind. To make matters worse, some reports suggest HD DVD may be gaining strength, although most buyers are sitting out.
So what's really going on with this war? Is there an end in sight? Even better, is there a solution in sight that can finally put this to rest? If you ask me, I think this could be over in a month if the Blu-ray camp follows three steps.
Step 1: Warner
Step 2: Slash prices on all players
Step 3: Get in contact with HD DVD's supporters and inform them of the bad news
In a rush to get the word out, it seems that those who broke the story talked to everyone except Konami, who made this statement "For the record, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is a PlayStation 3 exclusive and there are no plans to develop an Xbox 360 version of the game."
This PS3-killer [Xbox360 Ultimate - autumn 2008] will benefit from almost three years of Xbox development, featuring 1080p HDMI output, built-in Wi-Fi, hi-def audio output, cooler 65nm hardware architecture and a near-silent fan.
It'll also have the ability to make the most of the by-then established Xbox IPTV service, which will mean recording TV shows to its vast 320GB hard disk and watching live TV shows via your broadband provider.
But the piece de resistance? It'll have a built-in HD DVD drive.
The 24c3 is over now, and we really had a lot of fun. We brought 6 of our Xboxes, which allowed us to grab attention from quite a lot of people in the hackcenter .
Axel, who already wrote the free60 X11 driver using a revolutionary (ok, let's say: "interesting") remote development method, started, together with Tom, hacking on a Xbox360 linux sound driver. The bad thing was that they had nothing more than a really short braindump of what I so far found out on the sound hardware (and that was really not much more than a list of registers associated with the sound). But some hours later, they had a first result: No sound, as we didn't brought speakers with us, but we just hooked up a multimeter to the sound port, and whenever they would "trigger" the sound driver, the multimeter showed some activity!
Luckily it was (almost) daytime, so we just bought speakers (and more DVDs for Ben), and voilà: sound! It was something uncontrollable, but some time later we had some code which we estimated to output a plain sine wave. But somehow we screwed it up, and the output was an interesting piece of music, just not a simple sine wave. Ilinuxp. On the other hand, it's a mystery for me how they could bring the hardware to output anything at all! Thanks a lot, you two! I will soon provide Axel a skype link so you can continue developing remotely
We enter 2008 with the current lifetime Xbox 360 failure rate at Joystiq standing at almost 100% -- we currently have one last man's console standing. Yup, that's right, and for those of you paying attention we hit 90% last month. A few of us experienced issues back in 2006, but almost every person on staff (including those who've left for other opportunities) -- with the exception of The One -- have experienced a Red Ring of Death, disc drive failure, or other non-user-error console bricking incident. There's no denying at this point that as much as we love the games, the Xbox 360 is the most defective console ever manufactured.
Check the full article for the staff's experiences with their bricked consoles. Like former Microsoft executive Peter Moore explained earlier this year, when failure is practically guaranteed at some point, all we can do is focus on the repair service.
an article at the Seattle Times offers an interesting theory on what might be an important part of Bill Gates' keynote at CES next week. According to Times writer Brier Dudley, upgrades and licensing for the Xbox 360 could be a big new feather in Microsoft's cap:
"I've speculated on my blog that Microsoft may be preparing to license the Xbox gaming platform to consumer-electronics companies. In particular, Microsoft could work with Toshiba to develop a digital video recorder with a hard-drive, high-definition HD-DVD drive and Xbox gaming capabilities. They're already allied against Sony and other backers of the Blu-ray DVD format, and Toshiba could help Xbox finally penetrate the Japanese market."
Toshiba has repeatedly denied the possibility of a 360 unit with a built-in HD-DVD drive, it should be noted.
San Jose Mercury News reporter Dean Takahashi shared a small story over the holiday that will be music to the ears of RPG fans. BioWare is apparently already hard at work on a Jade Empire 2 .
"I talked with someone who saw code for Jade Empire 2. It's coming for the Xbox 360, and it's real. It's not much as far as scoops go, but I'm on vacation. What do you expect? Jade Empire was BioWare's second big game for the Xbox, following the exclusive Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic title in 2003. It will be interesting to see if Jade Empire 2 will remain an exclusive for the Xbox 360, now that Electronic Arts has agreed to acquire BioWare/Pandemic.
Welcome to this week's Games & Toys update, our weekly summary featuring all new product arrivals from the last seven days.
Following the busy Christmas season, the year has as usually started very slow, this time with just one new Japanese video game release. Japanese suppliers are on their New Year holidays, closing down for the first week of the year. Just like every year, we are trying to keep additional buffers on hot selling items but there are unavoidably slight delays for items that are not in stock until suppliers return back to work coming week.
Here is a quick summary of what's been new in stock this week, followed by a quick preview of what is expected next week.
Nintendo DS™:
Rune Factory 2 JPN US$ 48.90
Books & Magazines:
Arcadia Magazine [February 2008] JPN US$ 12.90
Famitsu Wave DVD [February 2008] JPN US$ 16.50
Xbox 360 Achievements: Unlocked US US$ 9.99
Toys & More:
.hack//Sign Lovable Collection Vol. 2 Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Black Rose JPN US$ 12.49
.hack//Sign Lovable Collection Vol. 2 Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Sabaru JPN US$ 12.49
Armored Troops Votoms 1/12 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure: Brutishdog & Fyana JPN US$ 179.90
Bleach Characters 5 Non Scale Pre-Painted PVC Trading Figure JPN US$ 5.90
Burst Angel 1/8 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Sei JPN US$ 29.90
Burst Angel 1/8 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Sei (Limited Version) JPN US$ 29.90
Creator's Labo #015 Neon Genesis Evangelion 1/6 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Rei Ayanami JPN US$ 59.90
Dragon Ball Z Non Scale Pre-Painted Gashapon: Neo Super-soldier of Legend Version JPN US$ 5.90
Dragon Quest Chapter of Heaven Vol.1 Collection - Pre-Painted PVC Trading Figure JPN US$ 4.90
Eushully's Meishoku no Reiki 1/6 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Silfietta Luashia JPN US$ 74.90
Feyenoord Rotterdam 14 Pre-Painted Mini Figure: Shinji Ono JPN US$ 9.90
Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Play Arts Pre-Painted Action Figure: Sephiroth JPN US$ 38.90
Final Fantasy X Play Arts Pre-Painted Action Figure: Tidus JPN US$ 38.90
Gradius Sky Girls 1/60 Scale Model-Kit: Vic Viper (Sky Girls Version) JPN US$ 39.90
Hamburger SV 32 Pre-Painted Mini Figure: Naohiro Takahara JPN US$ 9.90
Ikkitousen 1/6 Scale Pre-Painted Figure: Ryomou Shimei JPN US$ 59.90
Ikkitousen 1/7 Scale Painted Figure: Ryomou Shimei (Black Nurse Ver.) JPN N/A
Ikkitousen Scale 1/7 Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Kanu Gothic Lolita Dress (Black Version) JPN US$ 49.90
Ikkitousen Scale 1/8 Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Sonsaku Hakufu Maid Fighter (Black Version) JPN US$ 49.90
Kasutama P Yoake Mae yori Ruri Iro na Non Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Estel Freesia JPN US$ 64.90
Kasutama P Yoake Mae yori Ruri Iro na Non Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Feena Fam Earthlight JPN US$ 74.90
MM Train No.44 Pre-Painted Gashapon JPN US$ 1.90
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS 1/6 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Takamachi Nanoha JPN US$ 159.90
Masterpiece of Shunya Yamashita 1/7 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Shoko-San (Repainted Version) JPN US$ 59.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion 1/7 Scale Metallic Pre-Painted Action Figure: EVA-00 Prototype JPN US$ 19.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion 1/7 Scale Metallic Pre-Painted Action Figure: EVA-01 Test Type JPN US$ 19.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion 1/7 Scale Metallic Pre-Painted Action Figure: EVA-02 Production Model JPN US$ 19.90
Raki Suta Collection Non Scale Pre-Painted PVC Trading Figure JPN N/A
Robot Mini Figure Collection Vol.1 Pre-Painted Trading Figure JPN US$ 3.49
SIF EX The Onee Chanbara 1/6 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Aya (Special color Ver) JPN US$ 54.90
SR Super Sea Story Figure Collection Gashapon JPN US$ 3.49
Sake Cellar Tour Cup Series Non Scale Pre-Painted Trading Figure JPN US$ 2.90
Samurai Spirits: Iroha 1/6 Scale Prepainted PVC Figure JPN US$ 59.90
Sound Pot Yamanote & Osaka Loop Line Gashapon JPN US$ 2.90
Tokustsu Daihyakka Gamera Pre-Painted Mini Figure Collection Trading Figure JPN US$ 1.90
Unisonshift Collection Pre-Painted PVC Trading Figure JPN US$ 4.90
Zero no Tsukaima - 1/8 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Louise (Kneeling ver.) JPN N/A
Zoids Command Geno Saurer 1/72 Plastic Model Kit JPN N/A
Video Game Soundtracks:
Guilty Gear 2 Overture Original Soundtrack Vol.2 JPN US$ 27.90
Honeycoming - One More Chime! JPN US$ 29.90
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.
It's going to remain relatively calm next week, with just eight new releases in Japan, most of them budget reprints. Expected to be among the better selling releases are Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn! Dream Hyper Battle! Wii for Nintendo Wii™ and the Asian release version of Wipeout Pulse for PSP™.
Retailer Amazon has finally blown the whistle on what the first Gears of War novel will be called and when it will be out.
Dubbed The Pendulum Wars The Battle of Aspho Fields it will apparently be available in the UK in February, followed by North America in August.
As the title suggests, the story, written by former games journalist Steven Kent, will focus around The Battle of Aspho Fields that made protagonist Marcus Fenix a household name.
It should also fill some of the gaping plot holes left open by the game, and what is clearly important historical background.
The Gears of War novel was unearthed last summer and is rumoured to be part of a trilogy that will expand the popular shooter franchise.
Gears of War was released on Xbox 360 in November 2006 and shot to the top of both sales and most played charts, scooping buckets of awards in the process.
Pop over to our macho Gears of War review to see why a few steroids go a long way.
Activision is to release a software-only version of 2007's Guitar Hero II for Xbox 360, allowing those who have recently snagged a copy of Guitar Hero III to go back and play classics such as The Stooges' Search & Destroy, Nirvana's Heart-Shaped Box and Guns N'Roses' Sweet Child O'Mine.
The standalone version goes on sale on 25th January and although we've yet to get confirmation of the retail price, if GHIII is anything to go by it'll be full price.
THQ will be making a videogame version of Pixar's latest offering, WALL•E, and should be releasing it this summer to coincide with the launch of the film.
Well, Heavy Iron Studios, which is part of THQ, will be the ones actually making it, and those clever men and women will be assembling it for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, DS, PSP, PC, Mac and mobile.
WALL•E is the typically comedic Pixar tale of the last robot on earth, who seems to have been left to run around doing what he's meant for while humanity's scarpered, and what happens when he bands together with some malfunctioning fellow robots on a journey across the universe to do something and so on.
The game features ten worlds, with storyline, characters and locations from the film, plus some new bits, and head-to-head multiplayer challenges. It all adds up to a "fast-paced adventure game" according to THQ.
Microsoft has told Eurogamer that an official response to Xbox Live's poor festive performance is expected as soon as today.
Accusations over problems when signing in, recovering Gamertags and setting up games with friends have been rife, prompting Live community bigwig Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb to publicly reassure customers during the Christmas holidays.
"You may have noticed that the Live service has been having a few issues over the past few days," began Larry Hryb on his blog. "This includes things like signing in, matchmaking and account recovery. Not everyone has had problems, but I know some of you have and I wanted to give you and update."
"While the service was never completely offline, problems like this are not acceptable. The entire Live team has been working day and night to ensure that you can have a great Live experience."
Understandably, however, lots still feel hard done by, resulting in increased speculation that Microsoft plans to compensate Live Gold subscribers for their woes. Expect knitted socks and shower gel.
Hudson has chirped that side-scrolling shooter Omega Five will be next week's Live Arcade offering.
It will cost 800 Points (EUR 9.30 / GBP 6.80) and puts you in control of a ninja-like character that uses ranged, melee and pet attacks to clear the screens of would be assailants with clearly bad intentions from birth.
Like Geometry Wars, you control the movement with the left analogue stick and direction of fire with the right, obliterating enemies with upgradable weapons like reflecting laser beams or enormous special nuke attacks. Each character has their own unique abilities and style.
Among its biggest lures are its bright and colourful 3D environments and swanky special effects, as well as the option to join a friend in local co-operative play.
Look out for our thoughts on it close to its release next Wednesday. Meanwhile, pop into our Omega Five gallery for a better idea of what it is all about.
Jimmy Hopkins is supposedly ready to kiss the girls (and boys) at Bullworth Academy on Wii and Xbox 360 starting March 3. Bully: Scholarship Edition will feature "new content" and that's still all about we know at this point. Perhaps we'll get a little hands-on time with it at GDC, but we don't even really know if the Wii version will have waggle or if the Xbox 360 version will sport better textures.
Although there's still no official confirmation on Bully's release date, several retailers are listing March 3; we're following up with Rockstar and Take-Two for a polite confirmation -- otherwise we're resorting to swirlies.
An Austrian retail website created a listing for Crysis stating it's coming to Xbox 360 this November. Given the lackluster state of Crysis' sales on the PC it wouldn't be a shock if the game went multi-platform, but this is the first time a snippet of evidence – even an admittedly unreliable retail listing – has entered the channel.
There's currently no PS3 listing on the Austrian website (and we'll spare you the effortless Wii joke) but it'll definitely make for some interesting comparison videos if we get to see the 360 version of Crysis running side-by-side with the demanding PC release.
I myself am a huge fan of Shadowrun, it may not be the most liked game, but I sure enjoyed the hell out of it. Sadly, the forum staff have announced that in approximatly 2 weeks time, the Forums, aswell as the site, will shutdown. But all is not so bad, because the post says the domains will be passed to those working on future Shadowrun ips. For those who don't know, the original owner of FASA has purchased the license to use FASA's former IP's to create new titles. Full details have not been announced, like wheater Microsoft still owns them, or wheater it was a full transition. But we can always hope for the best.
Oh, this means we could probably forget about the downloadable content Microsoft promised us in September.
The obvious answer as to why Xbox Live has been up and down (but mostly down) over the last couple of weeks is, of course, that the service has undergone a massive distributed denial of service attack. (Feel free to blame the illusory Sony / Nintendo fanboys, if you must.) Naturally, we're already starting to see some of those rumors catch hold, in no small part due to the fact that while GM of Xbox Live Marc Whitten did offer a free game for peoples' trouble in his public memo a few hours ago, he didn't speak to the cause of the outages. We did, however, get some conclusive inside information from a trusted source, and confidently relay to curious Live users that the issues were not at all related to a malicious attack. Yeah, we know, it tones down the drama quite a bit (and actually makes the Xbox team look a little worse than if they were attacked), but the speculation that the service was out due to a two week long internet assault? The stuff of myth.
Looks like Microsoft is going to do the right thing: as anticipated, Xbox Live General Manager Marc Whitten states in a letter to customers that, as recompense for nearly two weeks of outages, the group is offering up a full, free Xbox Live Arcade title free of charge. Sounds like it won't be until the next couple of weeks before the offer is active, but it will indeed apply to "all" Xbox Live members, and assuming it's for games worth more than 200 Microsoft points, it will be net positive for Gold users who lost about $1.64 worth of Live service over the last twelve days. Well done Microsoft, we think most will consider the stinging pain eased.
Microsoft has announced that over 17.7 million Xbox 360 units have been sold worldwide since launch.
And updated sales figures for last year's Halo 3 reveal the game has shifted more than 8.1 million copies since launch on September 25.
The BioWare developed RPG Mass Effect has also seen impressive sales, with a total of 1.6 million units sold in just six weeks of release.
"Microsoft is proud of the contributions Xbox 360 is making to the gaming industry, and looks forward to an even more successful 2008," said the company in a statement.
Sales of the Xbox 360 are outpacing the original Xbox, with 17.7 million units sold in just over two years on the market, compared to the original Xbox which sold over 24 million units between November 2001 and May 2006.
Still not convinced Burnout Paradise was "THE best demo released" last year? Criterion has rubbed some grease on frontman Alex Ward's heaping helping of self-praise by doubling the maximum number of online players (from 4 to 8) and adding 13 new Freeburn Challenges. So does this mean that Burnout is now the best demo of 2008? Quick! Somebody give these guys an award!
(Note: The multiplayer boost will take effect on servers between today and Jan. 14th. The demo is available on PSN and Xbox Live.)
News from Play Asia of this weeks HD-DVD Film Releases:
Land of The Dead (~Simon Baker, Asia Argento, ...) HK US$ 27.90
The Bourne Identity (~Matt Damon, Franka Potente, ...) HK US$ 31.90
The Bourne Supremacy (~Matt Damon, Franka Potente, ...) HK US$ 31.90
The Prestige JPN US$ 46.90
Good news for Sega fans: the UK release date for NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams has been confirmed as Jan. 18, so anyone looking to spend some leftover Christmas money has just two weeks to wait (see our preview for a quick look).
The release date for Condemned 2 has also been set in stone, arriving on our shores on the 14th March for the PS3 and Xbox 360. The 'Bloodshot' tagline has also been dropped.
Here's Sega's full list for the next couple of months:
Jan. 25
Phantasy Star Ambition of the Illuminus, PC, PS2
Universe at War: Earth Assault, PC
Jan. 18
NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, Wii
Ghost Squad, Wii
Feb. 8
The Club, PS3, PC, Xbox 360
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, DS
Feb. 14
Condemned 2, Xbox 360, PS3
Feb. 22
Sonic Riders Zero Gravity, PS2, Wii
Feb. 29
Bleach, DS, Wii
March 7
Universe at War: Earth Assault, Xbox 360
March 28
Sega Superstars Tennis, Wii, PS3, DS, PS2, Xbox 360
Viking: Battle of Asgard, PS3, Xbox 360
A new firmware replacement for the Benq VAD6038 Xbox360 drive..
Features:
(v1.41) Read Sector fix
(v1.41) 8x firmware dashboard speed fix
Some of you may have noticed your disc did not spin down once you went back to your dashboard with 1.4 8x, that should now be fixed. The Read Sector fix is a bugfix, though we are unsure if it has caused any complications in the past.
This release is not security related. The Xbox Live network is still using the same methods as always(media auth/timings) to determine whether your xbox360 is 'modified' or not. And as before, they still dont know what they are doing, banning innocent users along with modified consoles.
With the Xbox LIVE issues the last few weeks (FYI: after 14days it's still not full solved) and the many problems reported to 'recover' accounts, Major Nelson explains how to solve status code '0x8016ABA5' yourself:
If you recovered your account and you are receiving the mysterious status code of 0x8016ABA5 allow me to help. This code indicates a problem with your billing information...so let's fix it. All you need is update your account information and you should be all set. All you need to do is use either of the below methods -you don't need to do both.
Remember to sign in with the Windows Live ID associated with the Gamertag that is giving you the error.
1) Update contact information on billing.microsoft.com
2) Update contact information on the console or Xbox.com
An article in UK-based gadget mag Stuff said that by August 2008, Microsoft will release what the publication called the "Xbox 360 Ultimate."
When contacted by Next-Gen, Microsoft declined to comment on the rumor. However, a separate source close to Microsoft who wished to remain anonymous said that the rumored "Ultimate" is simply not on the cards.
We just got an email which stated that the HD DVD group is canceling its CES press conference; tail severely between legs over today's explosive news that Warner -- the last "undecided" studio -- was going to the other side and doing Blu-ray discs exclusively. We're not sure if that's because the HD DVD group was in 11th hour negotiations with Warner or what, but the mood at that camp has to be beyond somber right now, so it's pretty hard to thump the tub when you've just been dealt a hard losing hand. Notice posted after the break.
Update: Toshiba, masters of the HD DVD format, just issued a press release expressing their "particular disappointment" with Warner, also implying that the move to go Blu-ray exclusive is actually in breach of contract. The particularly depressing release is also posted after the break.
The NY Times reports: In addition to Apple, Warner Brothers is now going to throw its weight behind the Blu-ray format for high-definition disks. Warner has been the only major studio to publish its movies in both Blu-ray and HD DVD formats. Today, the studio announced that from now on, it would only issue movies in Blu-ray. Richard Greenfield, the media analyst with Pali Research, wrote that this marks the end of the format wars: "We expect HD DVD to 'die' a quick death."
As if anyone expected anything different, New Line confirmed with Variety Magazine that it'll follow Warner to the Blu-ray promise land. While this is a no brainer considering the relationship between Warner and New Line, (also owned by Time Warner, just like Engadget) other studios remain up in the air. When, and if, Universal makes the switch as well is any ones guess, but at this point we doubt many would expect otherwise. But, as we've learned in the last few days, anything's possible, but the idea of having one HD format to adopt is something even most members of the red camp can get behind.
It appears that a sincere apology and the promise of a free arcade game aren't enough to satisfy the unbridled rage of some Xbox Live users suffering from frequent outages -- three Texas residents slapped Microsoft with a class action lawsuit yesterday, claiming that the disruption of the service over the holidays is a breach of the Xbox Live Terms of Use contract. The suit claims the damages suffered from the outages exceed $5 million.
While we usually scoff at class action lawsuits for seemingly petty reasons, the plaintiffs have an excellent point -- Microsoft must have expected an influx of server-taxing Xbox Live subscribers around the holidays, yet they "failed to provide adequate access and service to Xbox Live and its subscribers." The ball appears to be in your court, Microsoft -- that better be one hell of a free arcade game.
EGM's Quartermann (or, as we at the Joystiq offices like to call him, ScoopMaster Q) reports that he recently caught wind of a heretofore unannounced Microsoft project -- a sequel to one of their first party titles, which is being developed for the next Xbox console. Apparently, the game was being developed for the Xbox 360, but for reasons unknown, the company recently decided to postpone the game, putting it instead on their next system.
While it's no surprise that there will be another Microsoft gaming console (Xbox 720? 361? Ybox?), nor is it particularly strange for a company to work on games for a system before its release (or announcement), it is peculiar that this news, if true, comes pretty soon in the Xbox 360's life. Considering that Microsoft has repeatedly said that the 360 will outlast the usual five year console cycle, why would they start working on games for a new system just a little over two years after the 360 came out? Consider one of our eyebrows officially raised in skepticism.
Microsoft apparently still hasn't gotten the memo that charging $100 for its proprietary USB wireless adapter -- not to mention leaving WiFi out of the 360 in the first place -- is basically a criminal act upon the gaming populace. Walamoonbeam's Instructable on how to share internet with your Xbox from your WiFi-connected laptop over Ethernet won't blow any minds, but if you're having trouble figuring out how to get all those intertubes from the office to your gaming den, this guide should get you on the right path.
Its kind of old news but Im sure a majority of people don't know about it. Im sure most of you have heard of the Future Forces Warrior Program in the states (Think the GRAW tech), well I was looking at a few pictures of their test runs with it, and guess what they used to control their drones, robots, etc?
If you guessed a Xbox 360 controller, then YOUR RIGHT!
Microsoft and BT have announced that Xbox 360 owners will be able to access IPTV service BT Vision this summer.
The service will offer "hundreds of movies and thousands of hours" of sporting events, TV programming, music videos and other digital services for users with a BT Broadband connection.
"We are pleased to partner with Microsoft to deliver a truly compelling connected entertainment experience to our customers," said Dan Marks, CEO of BT Vision.
"For the first time consumers in the UK will be able to experience the advantages of an advanced TV service together with the benefits of next-generation gaming.
"Our aim is to provide BT Vision on multiple platforms — giving customers greater convenience, control and flexibility over what they watch, when they watch and how they watch TV. It also means that we are able to potentially expand our BT Vision customer base by tapping into the popularity of Xbox 360," he added.
BT Vision customers will be able to access the service via Xbox 360 or set-top box. Xbox Live features will be integrated into the service, allowing users to send and receive messages while playing games or watching TV content.
"This is an exciting moment in home entertainment," said Enrique Rodriguez, corporate vice president of the Connected Television Division at Microsoft.
"Last year at CES, we announced Xbox 360 on Microsoft Mediaroom as a powerful platform capable of enabling new entertainment experiences for consumers, and we are pleased to team with BT to bring this service to market.
"Together we are enabling BT Vision customers to be the first in the world to enjoy this next-generation TV and gaming entertainment experience," added Rodriguez.
BT works with all three console manufacturers in the UK on a number of gaming related partnerships.
Nintendo and BT launched Wi-Fi Connection hotspots for the DS in more than 600 retail stores across the country in 2006, and last year it revealed a partnership with Sony for the PSPs Go! Messenger service.
Microsoft has skirted speculation that Rare is working on a Live Arcade game called The Fast & The Furriest by making no sounds shaped like comments.
Presentation details for the title were supposedly leaked to Xbox 360 Fanboy, who outlined Furriest as a collection of sporty mini-games controlled by Live Vision Camera motion sensing - or a controller if you feel less ambitious.
Each of you will get to choose from familiar characters such as Banjo or Conker, then take a picture of your face and put it on their body. Good god. Your mugshot will also be splashed across scoreboards and reflect off of things like ice or a bald person's head.
Events like 100 meter dash, bungee running and hurdling will be in the initial package, with Rare apparently readying downloadable additions for the future.
The developer is also said to have toyed with the idea of including a wand-like gesture controller, but gave up and went back to sandcastles because it was too difficult.
Rumour and speculation for now, then, but far from impossible.
From 9am tomorrow, a demo for The Club will be available to download across Europe and Australia on the Xbox Live.
Developed by Bizarre Creations, The Club mixes score based challenges with core based challenges with bloody violence.
In the demo, you'll play Renwick, a detective stuck in a disused, crumbling penitentiary. Renwick is forced to fight in a shadowy underground blood-sport run by a secret group of sick millionaires.
We're not exactly clear on how you specifically fight them, apart from the game itself is a quirky third person shooter that our friends on OXM called, "Space Invaders for the Quentin Tarantino generation".
Our present opinion of Quentin Tarantino and his recent films aside, The Club sounds bonkers enough to be worth checking out.
Square Enix has today announced details of its schedule for the fresh end of 2008, with Final Fantasy I and II on the PSP and Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings on the DS both being given firm street dates.
Details of the release dates for other UK-bound Square Enix titles are somewhat more vague, with DS titles Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates and The World Ends With You due as the leaves begin to sprout, while we can expect Odin Sphere on PS2 and Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker on DS sometime before said leaves turn brown.
The full list follows:
8 February 2008
Final Fantasy I & Final Fantasy II (PSP)
15 February 2008
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (Nintendo DS)
Spring 2008
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates (Nintendo DS)
The World Ends With You (Nintendo DS)
Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors (Nintendo Wii)
Microsoft has revealed a number of user statistics for Xbox Live now that the popular online gaming service has registered over 10 million users.
Unsurprisingly the most popular game based on Xbox Live connectivity in 2007 was Bungie's Halo 3, even though the game wasn't released until late September. Last week, Microsoft stated that the game has sold over 8.1 million units worldwide.
Third party titles also registered highly on the service, with Epic's Gears of War, Activision's Call of Duty 3 and 4 and Ubisoft's Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas all in the top five.
The majority of best-selling Xbox Live Arcade titles for 2007 were familiar franchises and retro ports rather than original titles.
Konami/Ubisoft's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1989 Arcade was the most popular seller, with Worms, Bomberman, Castlevania and Uno all in the top five.
And of the original Xbox titles still played via the service, multiplayer shooters were the most popular genre. Halo 2 was the number one game, with Star Wars Battlefront 2, Counter-Strike, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat and Doom 3 all in the top five.
The top ten Xbox Live games of 2007 follow:
Xbox 360 titles (unique users):
1. Halo 3
2. Gears of War
3. Call of Duty 4
4. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas
5. Call of Duty 3
6. Crackdown
7. Oblivion
8. Guitar Hero II
9. Forza Motorsport 2
10. Lost Planet
Top Xbox Live arcade titles (sales):
1. TMNT 1989 Arcade
2. Worms
3. Castlevania: SOTN
4. Uno
5. Bomberman Live
6. 3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures
7. Sonic the Hedgehog
8. Pinball FX
9. Geometry Wars FX
10. Texas Hold 'Em
Original Xbox titles (unique users):
1. Halo 2
2. Star Wars Battlefront 2
3. Counter-Strike
4. Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
5. Doom 3
6. Forza Motorsport
7. Madden NFL 07
8. Conker: Live and Reloaded
9. Call of Duty 3
10. Rainbow Six 3
In a night of beginnings and endings, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates rocked. Well, almost.
In his keynote speech Sunday night that officially kicked off the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Gates was challenged by Microsoft's president of entertainment and devices, Robbie Bach, to a game of Guitar Hero 3. But before either could strum their plastic Xbox 360 guitars, Bach played his ace card by calling out a ringer — Guitar Hero 3 champion Kelly (TipperQueen) Law-Yone, who shredded through the opening notes of Welcome to the Jungle by Guns 'N Roses.
Not to be outdone, Gates trumped Bach with his own ringer — the Guns 'N Roses guitarist Slash, who emerged onto the stage in his trademark top hat playing the licks live on a real guitar.
The foursome closed out Gates's address, his 12th and final CES opener, as a packed auditorium laughed and cheered.
Gates's speech was light on news and heavy on humour. Along with several product managers, Gates — who steps down from his full-time duties at Microsoft in July to concentrate on his philanthropic endeavours — announced a few tidbits, including the Canadian availability of the Zune MP3 player. The device, which Bach said has grown into a "viable alternative to the iPod," will be available in Canada in the spring.
The Microsoft chairman also announced that ABC and Disney television shows, including Desperate Housewives and Lost, will be available for download over the company's Xbox Live service, as will movies from MGM.
A leaked internal Microsoft memo apparently sent by head of the corporation's Games division, Don Mattrick, to his employees, states that the Xbox 360 is on course to become the next-generation console winner.
The memo, originally leaked to and reprinted by Dean Takahashi, also implies that the Xbox 360 is generating more third party revenue that its rivals.
"History has shown that the eventual winner of each console generation was the console that generated the most third party revenue, and according to the most recent NPD data, Xbox 360 generated more third party revenue in 2007 than Nintendo and Sony combined," it stated.
The Whisper Max - with the new nitro switch, has more cooling options and tuning options than any xbox cooler available! The ultimate Xbox 360 cooling fan.
The new Whisper Max is a deluxe version of the standard original Whisper fan with additional features:
1) COOLING: Nitro switch allows you to change between 12v and 5v power, more than doubling your air output with the press of a single button! Suitable for use with "game mode" and "movie mode"
2) LIGHTING: One product, 3 colors. When you install your whisper, you can choose between Blue, Green, or Red lights, or not install any at all. You can even change colors later.
3) QUALITY: Ball bearing construction is higher quality, lasts longer.
features
Truly universal appeal with music from 70’s to today!
New HOW TO PLAY, TRIAL and SUPER EASY modes aimed at first-time players and beginners
Very accessible for all skill levels
Freestyle Mode debuts on Xbox 360® – dance how you want to dance without arrows (perfect for kids or anyone with two left feet)
Brand new Quest Mode lets you build your own character
Play online, download new music and more via Xbox Live®
Enhanced graphical design in high definition
description
The dancing universe expands further on the Xbox 360® with Dance Dance Revolution® UNIVERSE 2. Exclusively designed for the Xbox 360, Dance Dance Revolution UNIVERSE 2 has true universal appeal with multiple options and settings for players of all skill levels, cool smash-hit songs and exclusives and robust online and offline support.
Nintendo ended 2007 on a high across mainland Europe, with DS titles topping the Spanish chart and Wii games heading the German list for software sales in the week ending December 30.
According to the data from Media-Control GfK International, More Brain Training and the original Brain Training took the top two places in Spain, followed by Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 for the PlayStation 2.
Super Mario Galaxy was fourth while WWE Smackdown! vs Raw 2008 took fifth place, with Assassin's Creed for the PlayStation 3 in sixth. Other PS2 and DS titles rounded off the top ten.
Meanwhile in Germany Super Mario Galaxy was top, followed by Mario & Sonic at the Olympics, with More Brain Training in third.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare took fourth place, with the original Brain Training and New Super Mario Bros in fifth and sixth respectively.
The full charts are as follows:
Spain
1. More Brain Training with Dr Kawashima (DS)
2. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (DS)
3. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2)
4. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
5. WWE Smackdown! vs Raw 2008 (PS2)
6. Assassin's Creed (PS3)
7. SingStar Latino (PS2)
8. Imagine Babyz (DS)
9. Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
10. FIFA 08 (PS2)
Germany
1. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
2. Mario & Sonic at the Olympics (Wii)
3. More Brain Training with Dr Kawashima (DS)
4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC)
5. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (DS)
6. New Super Mario Bros (DS)
7. Need for Speed ProStreet (PS2)
8. SingStar: Apres Ski (PS2)
9. Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
10. FIFA 08 (PS2)
The upcoming Xbox Live Arcade version of Rez - called Rez HD - will not be compatible with the legendary USB trance vibrator peripheral, but don't be too downhearted (or in this case flaccid).
That's because Q Entertainment has apparently included a similar sort of option that allows you to treat up to three additional Xbox 360 controllers as trance vibrators, utilising their rumbling innards to simulate the original functions.
Clever old Joystiq found this out during a meeting with Microsofties at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and also saved us the trouble of looking up the link for the Game Girl Advance post about the trance vibrator with all the kinky pictures that got everyone s******ing about it in the first place.
Anyway, Rez HD - announced just prior to the Tokyo Game Show last year - is a proper HD port of the original Dreamcast/PS2 game and is due out this year.
Activision has confirmed to Eurogamer that it is set to release a standalone version of Guitar Hero II for Xbox 360 in the UK so that people who started off with the third game in the series can go back and see what the fuss was about.
Guitar Hero II's solus release will be arriving in shops in the UK on 25th January, in line with reports last week.
In case you've forgotten, number 2 included the likes of Kansas' "Carry on Wayward Son", Foo Fighters' "Monkey Wrench", Alice in Chains' "Them Bones", Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine", Rage Against The Machine's "Killing in the Name" and The Allman Brothers Band's Top Gear theme, or rather "Jessica".
The game was the first in the series to have co-operative play, although it isn't as developed as GH3's and there's no online play.
So, if you're looking forward to looking back, why not pop your face inside our Guitar Hero II Xbox 360 review and find out whether it's worth your licks.
We've uploaded initial screenshots from new Xbox Live Arcade game Lode Runner for your viewing pleasure.
Lode Runner's a reinvention of the game of the same name that released in the early 1980s. It combined platforming with puzzle elements and the ability to dig holes in the platforms, and the player had to collect all the gold in a level while avoiding robots that could be trapped in the holes.
The resurrection's being handled by developer Tozai Games, and in addition to sticking with the formula of the original it's introducing multiplayer modes. A release in 2008 is expected.
For the second year in a row, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has honoured Nintendo with an Emmy Award for excellence in engineering creativity.
The Academy recognised the Wii for its innovative motion-sensing controls and the Nintendo DS for its touch-screen control scheme and distinctive dual-screen display.
Atari and Mattel were also honoured alongside the DS for Handheld Game Device Display Screen Innovation, for the Lynx (Atari) and Football and Auto Race (Mattel).
The awards were presented in Las Vegas at the 59th annual Technological and Engineering Emmy Awards on January 7. This is the second year that the awards show was held during the International CES.
"The pioneering interfaces for Wii and Nintendo DS reflect our long tradition of seeking new ways to enhance the gaming experience for users at every level," said Don James, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of operations.
"We're grateful for this award and thank the academy for honoring us a second time."
Last year, Nintendo received an Emmy for the development of the D-pad and Sony was recognised for the XMB (Cross media bar) and DualShock controller.
Other game-related 2008 Emmy award winners included:
Development of MMO graphical role playing games:
Sony Online Entertainment for Everquest
Blizzard for World of Warcraft
AOL/Time Warner, Stormfront, Ubisoft and TSR-Wizards of the Coast for Neverwinter Nights
User Generated Content/Game Modification:
EA for Pinball Construction
Id Software for Quake
Linden Labs for Second Life
Insiders over at the AVS Forums - who are proper, actual insiders who work for companies like Microsoft, Universal and representatives of the Blu-ray consortium - reckon the decision could've gone either way.
Warner dumping HD DVD for Blu-ray went down to the wire - and it could've been persuaded, along with 20th Century Fox, to go exclusively with HD DVD instead.
In fact, they both nearly DID - an agreement was apparently in place between Warner, Fox and HD DVD backer Toshiba for the HD DVD WIN SCENARIO, only for Fox to pull out at the last minute and go crying off to Sony instead. Which gave Warner cold feet, so it went Blu-ray as well. It really was that close to being an HD DVD victory.
So if Warner and Fox had gone for HD DVD it'd be Blu-ray that'd look like the failed format today, and perhaps Bill Gates just might've pulled out an HD DVD-packing Xbox 360 from under his podium at CES last night, rather than blather on about a few new downloadable films instead.
On the Hollywood front, DongSoo Jun, Executive VP and General Manager of Samsung's Digital AV Division, believes that the Warner announcement was a tipping point. In short, Blu-ray will win. But! HD DVD doesn't have to slink into a grave next to Betamax yet. It will become the chosen format for "private" (that is, personal) content because the format--ahem, Toshiba and Microsoft--has a stronghold in the PC drive market. He expects Toshiba to really concentrate on the PC HD DVD market since it's deader than disco if it loses there.
The format war ends. The "divide" begins. And it'll be even bigger, in a sense.
Actually we're not entirely sure what he says. He seems to start speaking tongues halfway into his whole reliability-issue-was-a-hiccup comment. He says something about downloading curve, or something about him, or maybe he mentions peanuts, it's hard to say. This is what I got:
"Xbox live, which was immensely risky, we hadn't been in the hardware business. We even had a hiccup in terms of ahhhhh... me not downloading curve... on that one reliability issue we ran into it. But Xbox alone has been fantastic success. A huge asset for the company."
If you can't live without your Peninsula Beauty Supply or illy Caffe discounts, prepare to pay the piper because the Xbox Live Diamond card is moving from free to a $6.95 annual fee. The charge occurs as the ownership and administration of the Diamond Card program moves over fully to Passport Unlimited (which makes it sound like Microsoft is walking away from the table).
Beginning March 1, 2008, the hit or miss discounts offered by the program will require you to input a credit card; those who are already members will stay on free until their memberships expire this year (renewals will naturally require the fee). To those who actually have these cards, do you ever use them?
As any crime beat reporter will tell you, police reports aren't always the most precise source of information about a crime. Take this opening paragraph from The Morning Call, which they say was taken directly from police reports, "The boy wanted his father to look at his Xbox 360 video game system. The father didn't want to. An argument ensued. The boy handed his father a rifle. Shoot me, he said. So the father did." ... Yep. That makes perfect sense. The dad wouldn't look at the 360, the 17-year-old (who's now recovering from a head wound) asked dad to shoot him, dad did. Of course.
Now, if the first sentence ended with "which was displaying three flashing red lights," this might be a bit easier to swallow. A despondent kid, a parent knowing they're about to shell out another $350, it adds up. But as it stands, we're just not getting it. In the interest of full disclosure, we should mention that the dad's ex-wife said of the incident, ''he did the shooting but it was an accidental thing that took place.''
Though we're but a humble video game blog, we feel we can pretty confidently hand out some parenting advice here. Parents, we know it seems like a pretty good way to show your kids you mean business, but you probably shouldn't point a gun at their heads. You know, just on principle.
Microsoft sent out a few shots of Xbox Live Arcade Ikaruga today, the long-rumoured conversion of the must-have Dreamcast/Gamecube shooter.
Now, Microsoft also has a test version of Xbox Live, called Partnernet, that's not accessible to the general public. It's where developers upload test things and can play against each other without YOU PEOPLE bothering them. You can only access Partnernet if you have a development debug Xbox 360 - and you are NOT ALLOWED to talk about what appears on it, or Microsoft gets very angry.
BUT! The hardcore scrolling shooter fans over at the SHMUPS forum don't care and just just couldn't help themselves when a seemingly complete version of Ikaruga went up for test download recently. It is, after all, the best 2D shooting game of the last decade. And here it is on Xbox 360:
Happily, maker Treasure HAS totally upgraded it for Xbox Live - you're able to download replays of other players' goes and see exactly how they managed to score so many more points than you. Plus, of course, there are leaderboards - so no more lying about being able to "chain" all of level four on Medium. Proof will be viewable by all.
The only downside is the screen borders - they were big enough on a standard 4:3 TV "back in the day" on Dreamcast - on a widescreen TV you're going to end up with more border than actual usable playing area.
BUT! The option to stick your TV on its side and have the entire game flipped to vertical display mode is present in the Xbox Live Arcade remake as it was on Dreamcast, so if you fancy attempting to put your 42" Samsung LCD on its side you will have, by far, the most incredible shoot 'em up experience imaginable. The game also supports the less-famed 16:10 aspect ratio rather than the traditional 16:9, for those of you with odd-shaped pixels.
More screens of XBLA Ikaruga can be seen over at Gamersyde. Hopefully it'll be out very soon, seeing as it's clearly finished and ready to go.
Brain Training titles and Wii Play demonstrate the new importance of casual
Electronic Arts has at least one reason to be cheerful heading into 2008, with the news that the best-selling game of 2007 was FIFA 08.
According to Chart-Track numbers the title sold over 25 per cent more copies than the second-placed game, Dr Kawashima's Brain Training, one of three casual Nintendo titles that made the list, demonstrating clearly the effects that a wider casual audience is having on the games industry.
In fact Nintendo will be pleased because it ranked as the top developer in the top ten, and the only one with three titles represented - Wii Play and the two Brain Training titles.
Activision's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare took third place, with Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 in fourth.
Undoubtedly the most-hyped game of the year, Halo 3, was sixth selling around half the copies of FIFA 08, while EA's The Simpsons Game sold just under that.
The figures mean that Nintendo sold the most titles just based on the top ten list alone, with EA coming second on around 16 per cent less - although of course those bare numbers would be boosted significantly when all of the other titles outside the top ten are taken into account.
The full list is as follows:
1. FIFA 08 (EA)
2. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (Nintendo)
3. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision)
4. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami)
5. More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima (Nintendo)
6. Halo 3 (Microsoft)
7. The Simpsons Game (EA)
8. Wii Play (Nintendo)
9. Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft)
10. WWE Smackdown VS Raw 2008 (THQ)
The top ten titles sell over 1 million units in the last week of the year
Nintendo platforms ended the year in Japan in the same kind of dominant software sales position that they've enjoyed for most of the rest of it as seven of the top ten in the chart in the last week of December were Wii or DS games.
But they did fail to land the last number one of 2007 - that honour went instead to new entry Super Robot Wars OG Gaiden for the PlayStation 2, selling just under 200,000 copies according to data from Media Create.
Wii Fit, Mario Party DS and Final Fantasy IV followed, all selling more than 125,000 units each, while new entry Star Ocean 1: First Departure sold just over 105,000 copies for the PlayStation Portable.
Wii Sports and Super Mario Galaxy also featured in the top ten, while Dragon Quest IV for the DS broke through the 1 million mark in that week, and ensured a good week for Square Enix.
The full chart for the week ending December 30 was as follows:
1. Super Robot Wars OG Gaiden (PS2)
2. Wii Fit (Wii)
3. Mario Party DS (DS)
4. Final Fantasy IV (DS)
5. Star Ocean 1: First Departure (PSP)
6. Wii Sports (Wii)
7. Haruhi Suzumiya's Promise (PSP)
8. Prof Layton and Pandora's Box (DS)
9. Dragon Quest IV (DS)
10. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
Resting their cred on "very reliable sources" and evidence that they claim to have seen, Xbox Evolved is reporting that Nintendo 64 classic Goldeneye will be coming to the Xbox Live Arcade shortly before Activision (the current 007 IP holder) releases their new James Bond title. The news comes (according to the site) after an agreement between Microsoft, Rareware, MGM Studios and Activision. XE says the game will feature new graphics and online multiplayer, and that other Rare games may be in the pipeline like Banjo Kazooie and Perfect Dark.
OK, sounds great, but is it true? We have no evidence one way or the other, but we think it would at least make sense for all the parties. Microsoft gets more solid XBLA titles, Rare (which is owned by Microsoft) reminds people of the company's glory days and MGM gets more publicity for James Bond. As for Activision, well, we already know they're not above pimping out a license for cash. We'll keep you updated.
Following Warner's departure from the HD-DVD ship last week, Microsoft is once again fielding questions regarding the future of its Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive add-on. As is consistent with comments made previously by Scott Henson and Peter Moore, the HD-DVD supporter is still open to a Blu-ray drive should Toshiba's high-definition film format meet its demise. Speaking to Reuters, Xbox's group marketing manager Albert Penello has called it "something we'll have to consider" if "consumer choice" demands it.
Microsoft's initial decision to keep HD-DVD separate from the Xbox 360 hardware has always been trotted out under the "consumer choice" banner, with cost reduction cited as an immediate benefit. Of course, it also makes bailing out a lot easier should white flags start to go up. It may seem strange to envision Microsoft supporting a format so entwined with a competing console, but the company's not likely to shed a tear for discs when there's money to be made in the Xbox Live Video Marketplace.
Those few of you who use XNA the pay for Homebrew environment thing for the Xbox360 can celebrate the release of a new version of the Nes emulator for the Xbox 360
We're looking for a few 2D and 3D games created using XNA Game Studio for an upcoming opportunity to showcase the great work our community has been doing since we released the tools over a year ago. This could be the chance you and your game have been waiting for to enjoy the spotlight and anything that may come as a result. You will additionally have a chance to participate in an upcoming closed beta of a new XNA technologies.
If you have a game you are working on and would like for it to be considered, submit the following to xna@microsoft.com:
* Name of your game
* Brief description of your game
* Brief team bio including where you are located
* Up to 3 screenshots of your game (please limit the sizes of the screenshots to <1MB total)
* Optional: Link to gameplay footage
All submissions must be received by January 18, 2008 in order to be considered (inbox date stamp will be used GMT-8). Everything pertaining to your game concept, screen shots, demos, etc. will remain yours. If selected, we will contact you directly with more details on the opportunity. Submissions to xna@microsoft.com will not be shown or used publicly without your consent.
Ubisoft has spread word that Dark Messiah of Might & Magic: Elements will be out on 8th February.
It was one of a handful of titles to be dated by the publisher in its latest release schedule.
Joining it were tumbles from a pair of Wii offerings: Nitrobike sliding from 18th January to 8th February, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Hard Evidence - CSI: CSI as we might call it - that fell from January back to 14th March.
Elsewhere Haze is still lurking in Q4, or not before April in financial speak, but the DS is being given Figure Skating in March so everything is OK.
Smash your face into our release dates page to keep up to speed with when what is where.
The Nintendo DS capped an excellent year in Japan with a strong flourish in the last two weeks of 2007, with sales of the hardware falling just shy of 500,000 units.
That compares, according to the latest data from Media Create, with the Wii which sold 385,000 and the PlayStation Portable which sold 332,000 in the same time frame.
While sales overall slowed from the previous week, the week ending December 30 still saw above average sales of consoles, with the PlayStation 3 now firmly outselling the PlayStation 2 - albeit with numbers around a third that of the Wii.
The Xbox 360 continued to lag far behind its rivals, despite picking up moderately in recent months, and broke the 500,000 units barrier right at the end of 2007.
Hardware sales for the week ending December 30 are as follows:
1. Nintendo DS: 218,894
2. PlayStation Portable: 161,370
3. Nintendo Wii: 152,209
4. PlayStation 3: 52,706
5. PlayStation 2: 25,569
6. Xbox 360: 8,304
Being total addicts of Namco's bonkers city-crushing roll-'em-up, we practically know the demo of Beautiful Katamari released on OXM's cover disc months ago off by heart - and now the full game finally has a release date.
February is when the waiting will end, and we'll finally get to smash over the Great Wall of China, batter our way through Paris and stick Zeus to our 800 metre Katamari of death and suffering in glorious 720p. It's going to be awesome.
We reviewed the full game back in October (and you should check that out now) - that's how long we've been waiting for this game.
Fans will know what to expect - a crazy Japanese soundtrack, a tiny green hammerhead alien that kills the world with giant sticky balls and, for the first time in the series, online multiplayer.
Angry Texans have marched to court and filed a lawsuit against Microsoft for its shoddy Live performance over Christmas.
The probably-cowboys claimed the platform holder had misrepresented itself and breached its contract through negligence.
"Microsoft knew the increase in subscriptions would increase game-play on its servers, yet failed to provide adequate access and service to Xbox Live and its subscribers," read the filing.
The trio of accusers are reportedly asking for around USD 5 million in compensation, which sounds like rather a lot given that they would just have been killed and mocked by a bunch of teenagers anyway.
Late last week Microsoft popped its head out and offered Live Gold subscribers one free XBLA game as an apology for connectivity issues over the festive season, although it's not yet clear whether you will be able to choose your game or simply get what you're given.
It also did its fair share of New Year boasting, after it boosted its worldwide Xbox 360 sales up to 17.7 million.
Burnout 3 - for many the best in Criterion's kinetic driving series - is coming to Xbox Originals this Monday. It'll be available across all major territories with the exception of Japan for 1200 Microsoft Points.
The game joins other Xbox classics such as Halo, Psychonauts and Fable on Microsoft's Marketplace service and comes just weeks before the latest instalment in the series, Burnout Paradise, is released on January 25. The asking price for the download, 1200 Microsoft Points, translates as £10.20 or $14.99 in Earth money.
The BBC News had a sit down with Bill Gates at CES recently and instead of asking him their own questions, they asked him their viewers. This gem, the first in the Q&A video, asked Gates about the hardware issues that have plagued the Xbox 360, almost since launch.
We've had a lot of questions from people who weren't really happy with the kind of service they've been getting from Xbox in the last few years... What are you going to do to ensure that new consoles are more reliable than previous versions.
Well we certainly had to apologize to our uses about a number of box that had to be replaced. We did that for free for all of those people, we've gotten a lot of positive feedback about the way we handled it. We've got incredible reliability on the new work we've done. Our commitment is that it will be the most reliable video game box out there. People really love the Xbox because of the content, but we've got to make sure that the hardware never stands in the way of that.
Later in the interview he was asked about Vista and the possibility of releasing a version that would be no-frills, but still support game playing.
Any chance of a no-frills operating system? Just a system that plays PC games and a few basics. I hate the compatibility issues Vista has. And he ends "Help"
Ha ha. Well Vista has been a very successful product. Obviously because it is so broadly used and connects up to everything we get a lot of feedback. Things to improve, new things to work on. We're hard at work on things ,we do downloads of improvements all of the time and of course there will be a major new version coming along. So Vista is very successful, ties into the new hardware advances, but we love getting the feedback. People are very passionate about their PC. They use it more than anything else.
Are you proud of Vista, because a lot of people are questioning whether you should be.
No, I'm very proud of Vista. Like all of the products we ship as soon as we get it out we hear how we could do this differently and that differently but it has been a very important product for the industry a lot of great things were done in Vista. Now we are hard at work on what comes next.
Sega has given the first detail of its partnership with International Sports Multimedia to create official games of the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
Eurocom Entertainment is behind 360, PS3 and PC versions of the game (the only ones being talked about at the moment) that'll be available this summer. Sega says the games will feature "authentic simulations" of over 35 events and incorporate control schemes that allow n00bs to learn how to play the game "while providing experienced gamers the chance to set new records".
That old chestnut. How hard can it be to learn the old "bash-the-buttons-as-fast-as-you-can" technique? There'll also be online game modes that hope to bring out the Olympic Spirit in us all, but we doubt it somehow - especially over Xbox Live.
"After the successful launch of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, we are delighted to announce the official video game of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games," said Gary Knight, marketing director at Sega. "Combining an enjoyable game with a truly global sporting license will provide a fantastic sports game experience for gamers everywhere".
More in the build up to the opening ceremony. In the meantime, take a look at the first screens below, taken from the 360 version.
The United States Army is working with Microsoft to sponsor the first Halo 3 tournament to be held over Xbox Live. The tournament -- which is sadly limited to U.S. gamers only -- begins in April, and will feature prizes for top players.
Leading up to the tournament, the US Army will sponsor a series of "Basic Combat Training" mini-contests through Xbox Live, where players register and play Halo 3 on certain days in order to win. Registration has already begun for the first contest, entitled "Sniper School," and gameplay will begin on January 19. Registration for the main tournament will begin in March.
Here's a ton of media from Mistwalker's second Xbxo 360 RPG, Lost Odyssey.
Hironobu Sakaguchi's next 360-exclusive RPG is due for release at the end of February here in the UK. And in honour of that fact Microsoft has painted the internet a new colour with Lost Odyssey concept art, so you don't forget. Take a look.
More news from the format war today, and it isn't good for the red camp. Daily Variety has confirmed that Universal's agreement to stick with HD DVD has ended and has not been renewed. Additionally, Paramount has an escape clause in its contract that can be exercised following Warner's departure from the (now dwindling) HD DVD ranks. The article highlights various ongoing commitments both companies have to the format, but we've heard these kind of promises before from studios. It's feeling like a party where everyone leaves at once; nobody wants to be the first out the door, but everyone's looking in that direction.
The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (or ELSPA to us plebs) and Chart-Track announced today that the UK saw record-breaking "interactive entertainment software" sales in 2007 of £1.72 billion ($3.37 billion), a 26% increase over the record previously broken in 2006.
The DS topped devices in number of software units sold and nearly one-third of software sales were on handhelds, a 45% increase showing how much the UK loves their DS and sees the value in the PSP. The top three games sold across the board were FIFA '08, Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training and Call of Duty 4. Director General of ELSPA, Paul Jackson, took the opportunity of the strong sales to remind anyone who would listen that despite the UK's obvious game-lust, there are still problems for UK developers in terms of tax incentives and the threat of international competition.
Albert Penello, group marketing manager for the Xbox 360, hinted to Kotaku this week that the hefty backwards compatibility update the system received in November could be its last. "I don't know if we have plans to do any more releases," he told the site. "It feels like we kind of hit the point of diminishing returns there."
Now, if you were the sort to assume the worst about giant corporations you could theorize that Microsoft realizes that every new back compat game lowers the chance of you buying the Xbox Originals version, which makes new additions less attractive. For our part, we're just depressed that Everything or Nothing still isn't BC. Anything you're still carrying the torch for?
Is it April already? A quick glance at our calendars confirms that it's still January, and an extended glance at 1UP's reveal of Soul Calibur IV's secret characters does nothing to evaporate the reigning feeling of utter confusion. The lineup of saucer-eyed assassins, scantily clad combatants and bizarre pain fetishists in Namco's anticipated fighter is set to be joined by the Sith's darkest lord and the Force's most diminutive master. Our little green friend can almost manage to fit in to Soul Calibur's ye olde fantasy trappings, but poor ol' Vader appears to have gotten lost and disoriented after leaping over some sharks on his space jet ski.
Even better news can be found in 1UP's suspicion that even more Star Wars characters will waltz into Calibur's cantina, possibly via downloadable content. An interesting idea, but we reckon you'd save money by simply buying a copy of Masters of Teräs Käsi off eBay.
Update: Gamespot reports that Darth Vader is reserved for the PlayStation 3, while Yoda will be included in the Xbox 360 version.
Puzzling details about Microsoft's partnership with UK telecom company BT Group have begun to trickle down. According to BBC, when used as a set-top box to deliver BT's television service, Xbox 360 "will not be able to receive or record live TV." Say what?
The report describes the subscription-based service (with 12-month contract) as a library of on-demand content – yeah, like this one – that includes "near-live" Premier League soccer matches. "The reason for streaming-only on the Xbox is because currently the console does not have the capability for live TV or enough hard drive [space] for practical downloading of content," a BT spokesman told BBC, seemingly hinting that a firmware update could be in the works to enable live streaming. [Update: BT's current service only offers over-the-air live broadcasts (and not via IPTV); without a tuner, Xbox 360 is not capable of receiving the company's live programming.]
Welcome to this week's Games & Toys update, our weekly summary featuring all new product arrivals from the last seven days.
It remains expectedly calm during the first weeks of the year, just seven new games were published this week in Japan.
Highlights have been the Asian version game releases Wipeout Pulse (PSP™) and Dance Dance Revolution Universe 2 (Xbox360™), followed by Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn! Dream Hyper Battle! Wii for Nintendo Wii™.
There's not much more to say, so check out the complete summary of this week's new arrivals, followed by once again a rather short preview of what is expected next week.
Xbox360™:
Armored Core 4 (Platinum Collection) JPN US$ 34.90
Dance Dance Revolution Universe 2 ASIA US$ 49.90
Super Robot Taisen XO (Platinum Collection) JPN US$ 39.90
Table Tennis (Platinum Collection) JPN US$ 29.90
Xbox 360 Messenger Kit JPN US$ 34.90
PlayStation3™:
Armored Core 4 (The Best Collection) JPN US$ 34.90
Nintendo DS™:
Chishiki-Ou Series: Train Master JPN US$ 39.90
Sony PSP™:
Wipeout Pulse ASIA US$ 39.90
Zero Shiki Kanjou Sentouki Ni JPN US$ 48.90
PC Games:
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Koutetsu no Girlfriend Special Edition ASIA US$ 21.90
Toys & More:
Bleach EX 3 Phone Strap Gashapon JPN US$ 2.90
Diamond & Pearl Pokemon Pocket Monsters Mega Collection: Mega Colosseum JPN US$ 59.90
Dragon Ball GT Super Saiyan 4 Pre-painted PVC Figure: Son Gokou JPN US$ 17.90
Dragon Ball GT Super Saiyan 4 Pre-painted PVC Figure: Vegeta JPN N/A
Excellent Model Core Queen's Blade P-4 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure: Nix JPN N/A
Ikkitousen - Dragon Destiny 1/6 Scale Prepainted PVC Figure: Kanu Unchou (Chinese Dress Version) JPN US$ 74.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion Extra Tokyo Police Figure: Rei Ayanami JPN US$ 17.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion Extra Tokyo Police Figure: Sohryu Asuka Langley JPN US$ 17.90
Nohohon Grapefruit Type US$ 9.90
Nohohon Lettuce Type US$ 9.90
Nohohon Strawberry Type US$ 9.90
One Piece Collection Grand Pirate Non Scale Pre-Painted Trading Figure JPN US$ 2.90
Persona 3 1/10 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Akihiko Sanada JPN US$ 64.90
Picoo Z Infrared Control Sidewinder (Blue) US$ 29.90
Picoo Z Infrared Control Sidewinder (Green) US$ 29.90
Picoo Z Infrared Control Sidewinder (Red) US$ 29.90
Super Robot Taisen: Original Generations Scale 1/144 Fine Model Kit: PTX-003C Alteisen (Re-run) JPN US$ 29.90
Togai no Chi: True Blood - One Coin Figures JPN US$ 5.90
Video Game related Soundtracks:
Hikari (Prism Arc: Awake Theme Song) (~Ayumi Murata) JPN US$ 11.90
Hikari (Prism Arc: Awake Theme Song) [CD+DVD Limited Edition] (~Ayumi Murata) JPN US$ 17.90
Windows Game Honey Coming Original Soundtrack Character Song Album JPN US$ 28.90
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.
It remains rather quiet next week, once again with less than ten new Japanese game releases. Here is a short preview of what you can expect during the next couple of days.
Nintendo Wii™:
Caduceus: New Blood / Trauma Center: New Blood JPN US$ 59.90
Sonic Riders: Shooting Star Story JPN US$ 59.90
Nintendo DS™:
Jackass: The Game US US$ 34.90
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games JPN US$ 48.90
Soon to be sort of retired Microsoft chief Bill Gates has called Xbox 360 the most reliable console on the market.
His comments were made at CES to the BBC, which fired reader concerns at him - a remarkable amount apparently concerning Xbox failure rate.
"Well we certainly had to apologise to our users about the number of boxes that had to be replaced. We did that for free, for all those people, and we got a lot of positive feedback about the way we handled it," said Gates.
"We've got incredible reliability on the new work that we've done. Our commitment is that it will be the most reliable videogame box out there. People love the Xbox because of the content, but we've got to make sure the hardware never stands in the way of that."
The weeks long connection troubles many Xbox Live users have experienced since the holidays was due, according to Microsoft, to heavy Xbox Live server load brought on by a record number of users attempting to access the service. Xbox group marketing manager Albert Penello told us that "It's wasn't a malicious thing." He explained "We had the biggest concurrent day we've ever had on Live. We had more people than ever signing up on Live, it was 9 million, then 10 million, and it literally was that a lot more people were trying to get on, sign up and play than we had expected over Christmas."
The continued problems were a result of not simply too many people trying to connect and play on Live, but also that too few Xbox Live team members were in the office to react. "It's easy when we're all the office in November, but on December 25th, it's harder to get a hold of everybody," Penello said, later adding "I hope people feel like [giving away a free Live Arcade game] is a fair make good for the inconvenience."
Lian Li has designed an all aluminum Xbox 360 replacement enclosure that lives up to Lian Li's reputation for quality and sleek, stylish design. The chassis was a prototype, but it contained a fully-functional Xbox 360 on which I had time to do a quick race in PGR4.
Lian Li's solution is a vast improvement over the Xbox 360 chassis' cooling, which means that it will be a much quieter design and overheating should be less of an issue as well.
This product is by no means final, but Lian Li is hoping to launch it later this year.
A rumor that concerned the recent issues with Xbox Live being responsible for wiping out some of the achievements 360 gamers played hard to collect. Despite several comments on that story indicating otherwise, word from Microsoft's Larry Hryb is that this is not the case. The following comment appeared in Larry's Twitter widget early this morning.
"Regardless of what you have read, achievements are not disappearing for users"
This afternoon Microsoft officially responded to our request for a comment, saying mostly the same thing Hryb said:
"Xbox LIVE is not erasing Achievement's earned while playing on the service. If any member is having trouble with their Xbox LIVE service, we urge them to contact 1-800-4-my-xbox."
Let us count the ways Albert Pennello, marketing manager for Xbox hardware, told us in a sitdown that the [Reuters] story was wrong, and when HD DVD really is buried in Microsoft's mind.
1. The "headline misconstrued the context of what I said."
2. Microsoft is "not thinking about it."
3. It is "fairly definitive" Microsoft is not doing it.
4. Microsoft has "no plans" to build anything Blu-ray.
5. Microsoft is "totally committed to HD DVD."
So just when is HD DVD dead in Microsoft's eyes? It's "over when Toshiba says they're not doing HD DVD anymore."
Logitech Harmony Advanced Universal Remote for Xbox 360
Manufacturer: Logitech
Site: Buy from Amazon US / local electronics store
Price: $79.99-99.99
Overview : The Harmony 360 Remote Control for Xbox 360 is teh sure way to get more enjoyment out of your Xbox 360 and home entertainment system, without having to juggle a dozen remotes. Just connect the Harmony Remote to your computer and the Web wizard walks you step-by-step through a simple set up. It shows you how to set it up so that it's controlling your TV, DVD or clicking into game mode. Even the most complex home entertainment system is easy to control -- and best of all, you can do it without all the hassle of writing macros.
Features :
Just connect your remote to your computer and answer a few questions about how you currently use your audio/video and entertainment components. Logitech's patented Smart State Technology does the rest.
Gives you full control of up to 12 devices -- everything from HDTVs to PVRs, DVD players to VCRs, and game consoles to lighting controls
Use the special Xbox buttons - The Harmony 360 includes convenient Y, X, A, and B buttons and media center controls for your Xbox gaming
Quality/Usability : Having a Samsung HDTV, Xbox 360, HD DVD add-on, satellite/cable box, VCR and sound system, each device comes with their own remote control. Having to touch and turn on/off each one is troublesome not to mention having batteries for each one. Lose one remote or break and and you're screwed in the "not having to get up" department.
The Logitech Harmony Advanced Universal Remote for Xbox 360 is just that...a universal remote for all your home electronic devices. I was fortunate enough to pick up two of these for the price of $36.97 at a local Sears but is available at any electronic retail store but for $99.99. How I get it so cheap considering it retails for $99.99? Sears had a clearance on game items and I snatched them up (i.e. $14.97 for 12 month Xbox Live subscription!). Does the remote look familiar? It should because the look and style is exactly like the Harmony 550 with the exception of color and the 360 version has the four Xbox buttons (Y, X, A, B). How well is this all-in-one remote? Lets find out....
The Harmony remote includes everything you would need to get started once you open the package. There are four AAA batteries already inserted into the remote (for those interested consumers to try out) and four fresh batteries to swap out before actually using the remote.
Unlike some universal remotes, you'll need a computer with internet as the setup process takes place on the internet. It works on a PC (running Windows 98, 2000, Me, or XP) or a Mac (OS X 10.2 or later) with an open USB port. Inside the package, you'll find the following items:
Logitech Harmony Advanced Universal Remote for Xbox 360
USB cable
Installation CD
Installation Guide
4 AAA Batteries
Before starting, its best that you write down all the devices you want to program onto the remote (you can use scrap paper or use the included worksheet provided). Be sure to write the the device type (cable box, TV, speakers, DVD players, Xbox 360, etc.), manufacturer and model number.
Installation and setup of the remote consists of only 5 steps but those 5 steps will require a bit of your time to configure and setup your remote to your likings. Install the four fresh batteries and reset the remote by simultaneously pressing the Y, X, B, A button on the remote.
Whats great about the remote is that Logitech has included more than 80,000 different devices from 2,500 manufacturers. So more than likely, your device is covered. If not, you'll be able to configure the Harmony remote by using the learning feature. What this means is that you can teach the Harmony Remote IR commands. Of course, you'll need the original remote as this is where the Harmony will be learning and syncing from.
To teach commands to the remote for your origional device's remote:
Click Devices your home page.
Select the appropriate device.
Click Learn infrared commands.
Select the commands you want to teach the device.
Note: To teach a command that is not listed, in the Learn a New Command box enter the name of the command you would like to teach and click Learn New Command.
Click the Learn Selected Commands button and follow the instructions to teach the commands.
Note: "Your original remote" will appear beside the command on the infrared language page, indicating the command has been learned correctly.
When you have finished teaching the commands, click Done to return to your home page.
Update the remote.
Once you have written down all your devices, insert the provided installation CD into your computer or you can download the latest file from Logitech's website. As mentioned before, this will work on box PC and Mac. Installation is fairly short and takes a few minutes. Once completed, the Remote Software automatically launches and you are prompted to connect the USB cable to your PC and Harmony Remote.
Be sure to have and be connected to the internet as the setup is internet based. You'll need a Logitech user ID. If you dont have one, registering for one is easy and takes a very short time.
Once you have entered all your electronic devices, you are prompted to set up "Activities" on the Remote Software. This lets you choose the actions such as turning on/off devices. For instance, if I'm watching TV with my cable box and I want to play Xbox 360, with a touch of a button, I press "Xbox 360" and it will automatically leave my TV on, turn off my cable box, turn on my Xbox 360 and put the TV in its correct input (HDMI). The setup will ask you more questions in regards to setting up the "Activities". You can skip this but its best to have everything setup so you dont have to go back to it.
Once you have chosen all your settings and configurations, the proper settings will be transferred from the PC to your Harmony Remote. Once transferred, you will be prompted to test the functions to make sure everything is working correctly. If so, you can quit out of the Remote Software. If not, you can go back and do some more tweaking.
Everything worked perfectly from turning on devices, oping and closing of trays, raising and lowering of volume, changing channels, etc. If for whatever reason, a device does not turn on/off, you can simply press the HELP button on the remote and it will ask you if the device is on. If no, it will try to turn it on and ask you again if its on and it will also ask if the problem has been solved. The display has a green backlight and shows up to four devices which has four buttons (two on each side) to select your devices. If you have more devices, use the arrow to go to next page. You can arrange the order of what is show and you can rename them.
Underneath the display are your normal Stop, Play, Fast Forward, Rewind, Pause, Skip and Record buttons. Next are the four Xbox 360 buttons (Y, X, B, A) followed by Exit, Menu, Back and Info. If the backlight turns off, there is a "Glow" button under the OK button which illuminates the display and buttons. Around the OK button are your directional buttons. To the left are your Volume up/down. To the right are your Channel up/down. Mute is under the volume buttons and Prev is under the channels. Last but not least are you numbered buttons as well as Clear, Display, Title and Enter.
Conclusion : Overall, the Logitech Harmony Universal Remote for Xbox 360 is a must have device. The remote measures approximately 8" long and approximately 1" wide. Whats great is that if you have a device that is not in Logitech's database, you can simply teach the Logitech remote to IR commands for your device so as long you still have the original remote. Even at the price of $80-100, the remote is well worth it. Only thing I noticed was that if I go near the remote to turn on the lamp, its a little sensitive and the backlight will automatically turn on.
US telly therapist Dr. Phil has heard how Microsoft is not doing enough to combat racist bullies on Live.
On the show this week, concerned and irate father Terry told viewers he had been called a "monkey" and been threatened with lynching when playing on the service.
"I love playing videogames as much as I like eating food. I've been a loyal customer to Xbox Live and Xbox 360," began Terry.
"Now it's gotten worse with the racial slurs, the name-calling and the bullying online. I've been called 'monkey,' or 'Are your hands greasy from eating all that chicken?' [and] 'I'm going to put a lynch on your door.'"
Worse for Terry is having to prevent his children from using the console online in an effort to shield them from the abuse.
"I've had to stop my children from playing online, my 10-year-old daughter, my 13-year-old son, and even my 5-year-old son. He asks me, 'Daddy, why can't I play online with you? I want to play that,' and I say, 'No.' He goes, 'Why? Are they going to call me names?' I think that's sad for a 5-year-old to know that," said Terry.
But despite the atrocious comments made by spotty boys in their underpants, Microsoft needs at least 10 complaints about a particular customer before it does anything about it, says Terry. And Terry is not happy.
"I called Xbox Live. I gave them all the information they needed to know, and they told me before they can do anything, take any kind of action, there has to be 10 complaints filed against [the other player]," he said, blood boiling.
"That's like you coming to my house, robbing me, and I call the police. Are they going to tell me, 'Well, if that guy comes back to your house 10 times, we'll come out and do something about it'? I think that's disgusting. I think Mr. Gates needs to change that rule, and I think it needs to be changed immediately."
His family are genuinely scared, too, even if Terry tries to hide the worst of it from them.
"I just feel like on the Internet, in this situation, anything is possible. I don't know who these people are. They claim to be the KKK, and I have a really big problem with that," Terry's wife Nydia tells Dr. Phil.
"They're calling my children monkeys, that they're going to hang them, they're going to kill them, they're going to kill me. It's crazy, and it's out of control. Nobody is trying to do anything about this. My husband has contacted Microsoft for many years, and I don't understand why the FBI is not all over this."
As a result of the show, Terry had a Microsoft investigator assigned to him to check it all out and Dr. Phil called the anonymous abusers bullies.
The situation of console sales last week in Japan are below as thus:
Nintendo DS Lite: 266,568
Playstation Portable: 218,234
Nintendo Wii: 207,797
Playstation 3: 64,183
Playstation 2: 32,010
Xbox 360: 9,763
The DS lite tops the list as usual while the PSP trails just behind it, beating the Wii by about 11,000. Lagging beind is the PS3, PS2 and Xbox 360, faring the worst out of all on the list. No sign of Game Boy Micro, Game Boy Advance SP/Original, Nintendo Gamecube or the original Xbox.
Football Manager 2008 will emerge from the console dugout on March 28 for Xbox 360.
Sports Interactive's football management series is no stranger to Microsoft's console, having already graced it twice. This new version will be fully updated for the new season, including transfers being made in the mid-season transfer window.
The developer explains that the 360 version boasts the same feature set as the already-available Football Manager 2008 on PC. However, the console iteration has seen online play revamped "permitting you to challenge friends to one-on-one matches and even host tournaments."
Eidos parent SCi has decided to hold the new Tomb Raider game back until the fourth calendar quarter of 2008.
But when Underworld does come out it will be on six platforms instead of three, adding Wii, DS, and PS2 offerings to the existing PC, PS3 and 360 versions.
Three other undisclosed titles will follow it into Q4, prompting SCi to warn its investors they might see some red numbers for this financial year that ends in June.
Still, SCi has also revealed it is no longer selling itself to the highest bidder, because apparently no one made a formal offer within a "timeframe requested".
Perhaps this has alleviated pressure to present a healthy financial report to potential buyers and rush games to launch, but the publisher admits it might need a little more pocket money to help it through this now barren patch of releases.
Titles like Conflict: Denied Ops and casual outings Looney Toons and Wacky Races should help limit the damage, plus strong performances from Kane & Lynch - apparently selling over a million copies - and its casual games like Pony Friends has made board members crack a smile.
Tomb Raider: Underworld is one of our picks for 2008 in the action adventure genre. To find out the others, keep your eyes peeled on Eurogamer "going forward".
Universal Studios issued a terse statement today, denying rumors that the HD DVD stalwart is looking to take advantage of that lapsed exclusivity contract and jump ship for cross-town high-def adversary, Blu-ray. Ken Graffeo – veep of HD strategic marketing at Universal and also co-president of the HD DVD Promotional Group – said simply "Universal's current plan is to continue to support the HD DVD format." That Universal's response was almost verbatim to HD DVD ally Paramount's should come as little surprise. How about this, movie executive types: let us know about your future plans and we'll skirt this whole song and dance, okay?
Rock out to the third entry in in Red Octane's music series for guitar gods! Songs for Guitar Hero III include Barracuda by Heart, Sabotage by Beastie Boys, Rock And Roll All Nite by Kiss, and much more! In addition, players can experience an incredible number of added features and explosive content including a new multiplayer action-inspired battle mode, grueling boss battles, a bevy of exclusive unlockable content and authentic rock venues.
features
Darkness Falls…Destiny Awaits! While the Lords of Light and Darkness have alternately ruled the world throughout time, the Alliance of Light was triumphant in the latest battle.
Choose your hero: Six heroes from Kingdom Under Fire are available, each with their own unique fighting style and weapons.
Varied worlds: Each world features randomly generated maps and destructible environments to ensure a unique experience every time for extended gameplay.
Customization: Evolve your characters and customize your armor and weapons. There is a nearly infinite combination of weapons, abilities, and spells.
Multiplayer: Four player co-op mode allows you to team up with friends and try out new strategies by combining fighting styles and sharing abilities.
description
Kingdom Under Fire™ Circle of Doom is an action role-playing game set in another dimension with randomly generated maps. Save the world from eternal darkness as you battle hordes of enemies using your skills to build powerful weapon combos for each hero. Take your game online with the seamlessly integrated multiplayer over Xbox LIVE®.
In a bold move, Sega has launched an online competition for Xbox 360 players, with a $5000 cash prize for top place. Xbox live subscribers will be able to play their latest release The Club, a gritty third-person shooter, and submit their scores in an attempt to win the top place.
We caught up with Sega today - check out our preview of The Club here. To sign up for this competition, check out this link.
Love Fords? Love budget racing games? Well lucky you, as this morning Xplosiv announced the next instalment in their ongoing Ford series, Off Road.
Coming to the PS2, PSP, PC and Wii, Off Road is also bringing the Land Rover brand into the mix, so expect a multi-marque mash-up. There's the requisite selection of tracks, with desert, water and ice environments to pit your off-roader against, and there will also be 18 officially licensed vehicles. Hit the gallery below for a fresh batch of screens.
The game is coming to the PSP, PS2 and PC on 21 March with a reasonable price tag of GBP 19.99, and the Wii version is expected soon after.
After 37 days, Microsoft issued 43-word statement on the report of a strange, strong radio apparently generated by its Xbox 360 game console, and noticed by Morrisville State College, Morrisville, N.Y.
The entire statement, averaging about one word per day, is: "Any number of scenarios could account for wireless LAN disruptions in a college dorm environment where several electronic devices operate in close proximity. Xbox 360 complies with all applicable FCC regulations and we have not received reports that would indicate such a problem."
The story described an anomalous signal discovered by the IT department at Morrisville State College, which has deployed a campus-wide 802.11n net based on equipment from Meru Networks. The IT staff were exploring the radio environment in one of the college dorms, using Cognio's RF analysis software. The software revealed a signal, in the 2.4-MHz band, that was quite strong and jumped around through many of the frequencies in that band.
The signal was created even when the Xbox was not actually turned on. Barber speculates that it might be the continuing attempt by the console to find and connect to Microsoft's companion wireless handheld gaming controller. When Barber shrouded the Xbox with a static discharge bag the signal dropped noticeably but was still present, according to the Cognio scan. When the Xbox was unplugged from the wall, the signal stopped.
Barber emphasized then that there was as yet no indication that the signal was actually interfering with the Morrisville WLAN access points or clients. But the IT staff discovered that in the presence of this strange signal, they had a problem getting their wireless Bluetooth headsets to associate with their Bluetooth-enabled cell phones. They had to actually touch the two devices together to set up that connection.
What Toshiba Could Do Next
1. The most attractive and apparently least risky path is to sue for peace. This is where the losing side goes to the winning side and says that for some predetermined consideration it will walk away and give up the fight. Sony and its partners might still be willing to pay a large sum of money and/or give Toshiba significant concessions to simply walk away.
2. Assess what it would take to move Time Warner back into the Toshiba HD-DVD camp and execute against this plan. All of the studios, thanks largely to the writers' strike, are looking at what will likely be a massively bad year when it comes to both revenue and profit (it should easily reach over a billion dollars by mid year). Sony likely already paid it a lot to make this move, but if Sony paid the subsidiary Warner Brothers, there is a chance the parent Time Warner could override.
3. Go after Disney instead. One of the mysteries in this segment is why Disney jumped from the HD-DVD camp to the Blu-Ray camp, and the back story behind that move might identify a negotiating vector that could open up a major opportunity for HD-DVD.
4. Do an end run and move to blended download and/or dual-mode devices. The market is moving to downloads, but it will take some time to get there. Offering a player that could both play HD-DVDs and gain access to the content already being licensed to Microsoft (which includes most of the Blu-Ray camp) could provide a compelling consumer mix of the present and the future. Were the company to subsidize a combination Blu-Ray, HD-DVD player, given that the existing content is split, it could put the consumer in the position to make the choice.
5. An interesting alternative or addition would be to work with Microsoft to create the same thing, but as a significantly improved and price-reduced HD-DVD enhancement to the Xbox 360, which has a market penetration of over four times the Playstation 3. Alone, I don't think this would be strong enough to change the outcome, but coupled with any one of all but their first plan this could ensure an eventual HD-DVD victory.
Microsoft was also a big disappointment this year. Vista is failing to inspire, the Tablet PC isn't going anywhere, and while the Microsoft Surface prototypes demonstrated compelling and imaginative use of touch-screen technology, we're still not exactly begging the PR company to give us one. Surface is one of those brilliant - simply, brilliant - technologies that unfortunately doesn't resolve a problem or serve a consumer 'want'.
As this was Bill Gates' last keynote appearance at CES, we undoubtedly expected a big finish - Zunes on sale in Europe, a Zune phone, an Xbox handheld to rival the DS and PSP, a new (and prettier) version of Windows Mobile... But there was no big-bang announcement, no dramatic CES goodbye.
Like many companies exhibiting at CES, Microsoft has settled into a period of consolidation rather than innovation. So CES 2008 was mostly a show of incremental product improvements and hearty back-catalogue re-selling. When what we really wanted was more outlandish product concepts with the promise of affordable life-improving technology to come...
Personally though, I don't seem to bring myself to care. Perhaps I'm in the minority, but the idea of turning my games console into a jack of all trades multimedia monster never really appealed to me. I accept that having extra features available are welcome as a convenience, but to be honest, I don't think it would make any difference to whether I'd want to buy the console or not. I'd want to buy it on the strength of its games library, rather than its ability to browse the web or download TV shows.
As far as the gaming capabilities of Blu-ray go, while it does give the PS3 hardware a boost, power of hardware doesn't correlate with quality of games. The PS2 was the best console of the last generation because of its fantastic games library, despite the original Xbox being a more powerful machine and packing in a hard drive. The victory of Blu-ray would be by no means a good thing for the Xbox 360, but in the long run, the console battle will be fought with games, not hardware.
The Cybercast News Service, a conservative site, claims in a report published this morning that best-selling Xbox 360 title Mass Effect contains "explicitly graphic sexual intercourse."
The charge seems to be based on a well-known episode in the game in which there is a romantic liaison between the player's character and an NPC. However, in our view, it's quite a stretch to describe what appears onscreen as explicitly graphic sexual intercourse, which generally denotes hard core pornography.
Mass Effect is far from that.
However, a lawyer quoted in the article specifically refers to the game as porn. From the CNS piece:
The game is "clearly marketed to minors," Cathy Ruse, a lawyer and senior fellow for legal studies at the Family Research Council, told Cybercast News Service.
"There are cultural implications for feeding porn to kids in this way," ...Ruse said.
US telly therapist Dr. Phil has heard how Microsoft is not doing enough to combat racist bullies on Live.
On the show this week, concerned and irate father Terry told viewers he had been called a "monkey" and been threatened with lynching when playing on the service.
Worse for Terry is having to prevent his children from using the console online in an effort to shield them from the abuse.
But despite the atrocious comments made by spotty boys in their underpants, Microsoft needs at least 10 complaints about a particular customer before it does anything about it, says Terry. And Terry is not happy.
As a result of the show, Terry had a Microsoft investigator assigned to him to check it all out and Dr. Phil called the anonymous abusers bullies.
The world's largest software firm could become the world's leading peripherals manufacturer if rumors linking Microsoft with a takeover of Logitech bear fruit.
According to a Reuters report, rumors are circulating amongst traders that Microsoft may be about to launch a takeover bid for Logitech at 48 francs per share, representing a premium of 38 percent and valuing the company at 9.16 billion francs. The speculation has seen the Swiss company's shares gain up to 12 percent Thursday.
The Whisper Max - with the new nitro switch, has more cooling options and tuning options than any xbox cooler available! The ultimate Xbox 360 cooling fan.
The Toshiba A3 and the A30, both award winning players are on sale at Amazon. The A3 can do 1080i while the A30 can do 1080p, at $140 and $180 respectivly it is a GREAT buy.
I know someone is going to be like "Warners going don't waste your money, well, heres a excerpt from a old post:
Spoiler!
Now, people are going to say: "Oh Warner switched, HD DVD is going to die a slow death"! Well here's what I say to you all:
Warner will officially go exclusive July 1 08, new HD DVD owners will have roughly 6-7 maybe 8 months, to build up your Warner collection, after Warner switch's, you will still have a great selection of Universal, and Paramount titles to choose from (Including Subsides). A majority of the good Warner stuff is already out on HD DVD, so your really not going to be missing much. On top of that, a lot of Sony, Fox, Disney, etc titles that are on Blu Ray in North America can be imported from Europe on HD DVD discs, because of publishing rights. So you can own great titles like the Terminator series, Rambo, Underworld, etc on HD DVD. Since all HD DVD's are region free, it will work anywhere in the world!
See the link below for more details and links to the sale:
We've got good news and bad news for fans of Rare's groundbreaking first-person shooter, Goldeneye. The good news? Those rumors you've heard about a port of the game for the Xbox Live Arcade are true! The bad news? The release of the title has been delayed indefinitely, due to a licensing disagreement between Microsoft and Nintendo. Sorry to get your hopes up -- we probably should have led with that last part.
To further rub salt in your wounds, 1UP has some sweet details about the game-that-wasn't, which was only two short months from completion. Apparently, the game was a faithful recreation of the N64 classic, including all the maps and weapons from the original, with the addition of multiplayer support over Xbox Live.
Instead of giving up on what would have been one of the greatest XBLA titles to date, we highly encourage everyone to exercise their civil trolling rights in an attempt to convince Nintendo and Microsoft that there's more than enough of our money to go around. Already, thousands of rabid wannabe 00 Agents have signed petitions to bring the game back to the development table -- have you?
If you just bought an HD-DVD player attachment for your Xbox 360, don't feel completely discouraged about the recent movements in the home entertainment industry. While it definitely seems as though Blu-ray has soundly won the format war, Viacom Inc. owned Paramount Studios recently issued a statement saying they would continue producing HD-DVD movies.
The statement was a correction to a recent Financial Times article saying that the company was following in the footsteps of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., and adopting Blu-ray as their sole HD format. Following a brief plunge in the stocks of Toshiba (the company most invested in HD-DVD technology), Paramount issued a statement pledging their allegiance to the format less blue. Looks like it's time to hunker down for the long haul, people -- it might be a while before the clear victor for the Battle of the Formats is decided.
As Xbox Live limps into the third week of 2008 still experiencing slow-downs, and occasional outages, salvation has come in the form of a legal excuse not to explain why the service remains so dodgy.
According to Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, he is no longer allowed to update us because Microsoft now faces a class action lawsuit over the outages. Hryb apologized, but said any future updates will need to come from "the lawyer."
That means no more Twitter updates like "LIVE is looking pretty good now....how is it for you guys-n-girls?" or "I want to thank you all for (mostly) being so understanding during the tough LIVE time. Some of you did decide to cuss at me...but ok.".
The response by gamers over on his Microsoft site is getting quite hostile, hostile toward Larry Hryb and each other and the guys behind the suit. It's unfortunate that this has happened, because the only thing worse than having issues with a very popular service, is not being able to talk about when a fix is coming.
How about you all, are you still experiencing any Xbox Live issues?
The online presence of UK specialist retailer Game has opened the voting for this year's People's Choice Award.
Game.co.uk has listed 43 titles for members of the public to choose from, including big-sellers such as FIFA 08, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and More Brain Training with Dr Kawashima, and some cult favourites like Okami and Super Paper Mario.
Voting for the award is open now and closes at 11:30pm on Thursday January 17, with the winner announcement expected on the web site on Friday January 18.
Other awards being contested include Best Publisher and Best Developer, which have already been won by Nintendo and Bungie respectively, with Best Console, Best Value for Money and Game of the Year yet to be announced.
The full People's Choice shortlist is as follows:
Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
Final Fantasy XII (various)
Resident Evil 4 – Wii Edition (Wii)
Tiger Woods 08 (various)
Football Manager 2008 (various)
Mass Effect (360)
Assassin's Creed (various)
Need for Speed: ProStreet (various)
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (various)
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3)
God of War II (PS2)
Tomb Raider: Anniversary (various)
Forza Motorsport 2 (360)
Project Gotham Racing 4 (360)
The Darkness (various)
John Woo Presents Stranglehold (various)
Virtua Tennis 3 (various)
Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (Wii)
Rainbow Six Vegas (various)
Guitar Hero III (various)
Pokemon Diamond / Pearl (DS)
Singstar PS3 (PS3)
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (various)
FIFA 08 (various)
Super Paper Mario (Wii)
Mario Vs Sonic at the Olympics (Wii)
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (various)
Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions (PSP)
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
Half-Life 2: The Orange Box (various)
Metroid Prime III: Corruption (Wii)
Okami (PS2)
The Simpsons Game (various)
Skate (various)
More Brain Training By Dr. Kawashima (DS)
WWE SmackDown Vs Raw 2008 (various)
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga (various)
Crysis (PC)
Cooking Mama (various)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves (Wii)
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (PC)
Halo 3 (360)
Bioshock (360)
Two new Team Fortress 2 maps that are being created by Valve may not be released for Xbox 360 and PS3.
ShackNews reports it's received word from the developer that the maps are "undecided" for the consoles.
But they will, of course, definitely release on Team Fortress 2 on PC.
One of the new maps remains a mystery, however the other is a remake of Badlands, which players of Team Fortress Classic will be familiar with.
Valve additionally expects to ship other TF2 content before the two maps arrive, which includes new achievements and a "significant gameplay tweak" for the Medic class.
"It's a large scale modification to the core of the game," Valve's Robin Walker has said of the new class content. "It'll debut in a limited fashion through the Medic first, but it'll be affecting all classes eventually."
Both new Team Fortress 2 maps are expected within the next couple of months.
Bungie (the most typed word on our keyboards in 2007) has dropped fresh hints on what we can expect in the next Halo 3 map pack.
The first map pack, which includes Standoff, Rat's Nest and Foundry, is out now for the rather pricey 800 Microsoft Points (£6.80), though you probably bought it anyway.
As for the next slice of DLC, Bungie says it'll reveal the new maps "once they are ready for the general public to see," and that ultimately "it's up to Microsoft how that information is disseminated."
One level though, codenamed "Moon Base Alpha", looks likely to be included in the second pack. It's definitely being worked on, says Bungie, and "It's received some new lighting and different switches to enable and disable access to various parts of the map.
"We're still playing it pretty often," says Bungie's website man. "It is a brutal map to play on, that may appeal to fans of Elongation, but is absolutely NOT a remake."
When asked if there'll be any maps with more water, Bungie gives an assertive "Absolutely." Excellent, because we can't stop staring at Halo 3's pretty liquid.
Alone in the Dark has not been delayed until September, according to Atari.
A spokesperson for the publisher claimed Games for Windows magazine was spouting a rumour, so presumably everything is on track for PC and 360 versions to appear in March.
Atari recently launched the official site for the game, which has some viral marketing based around Central Park and the scary things that lurk within it.
Interestingly it appears to be based around real-life occurrences like the you-must-know-about-it insect invasion of 1888, where nine different families of spider were taken from a single tree and a meaty five pounds of caterpillars taken from another.
Less interestingly Atari added PS2 and Wii versions of its survival-horror game to its schedule last November. As with the PS3 offering, no dates have been mentioned.
Not content with talking to them about TF2 maps during a recent visit, Valve has gone blathering to Shacknews about Left 4 Dead's release date, which is now "late summer". Presumably on both PC and Xbox 360, for which it's been announced.
Still, Left 4 Dead will be amazing whenever it comes out. We've played it in Valve's offices and at QuakeCon, and it's one of the most enjoyable takes on co-op we've ever experienced.
In case you're not keeping up, Left 4 Dead sees four player-controlled "survivors" fighting their way through various scenarios to an extraction point, beset on all sides by zombies ("Infected") and their deadly bosses.
Thanks to AI developed by Valve's recently acquired chums at Turtle Rock, no two trips through an episode of the game are the same, as enemy resistance changes in intensity from bit to bit depending on what kind of an experience an "AI director" is trying to craft. Fortunately there will be natural periods of relief built in to stop you going mad.
Another wicked thing about Left 4 Dead is that another four players can take control of Infected bosses. These mentalists each have special powers (one lightning-fast boss has a prehensile tongue with which to lynch you from rooftops), and thanks to Predator-esque tracking vision can position themselves creatively for ambushes.
And there are lots of other wicked things - preparing defences (like petrol canisters) and fending off waves of zombies at the extraction point, saving your team-mate from a zombie death with a shotgun and then turning to him and saying "I like to keep this handy for close encounters", and of course knocking Kristan off a rooftop into chasing zombies.
Oh, it's just lovely. We hope to see some more of it soon.
Capcom has unveiled the official website for Street Fighter IV in Japan, the latest instalment in the epoch-defining series that is causing many red-blooded gamers to break into a sweat.
Spotted by the eagle-eyed folk at Destructoid, the site includes a healthy splash of new screens depicting main characters Ryu and Ken in combat. There is also a trio of character profiles, for both the main protagonists and also for C.Viper, the recently announced new addition to the Street Fighter roster. Unfortunately, the site is heavy on Japanese text, though fansite The Street Fighter blog has kindly posted translations of the profiles – and rest assured they reveal little, with standard biogs on both Ken and Ryu, and an enigmatic entry for new challenger C.Viper giving nothing away.
Hit the gallery below for more SFIV screens and check back here soon for an in-depth look at one of the year's most hotly anticipated titles.
Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C. ("Toshiba") today announced that it is stepping up its successful marketing campaign for HD DVD as it experienced record-breaking unit sales in the fourth quarter of 2007. Major initiatives, including joint advertising campaigns with studios and extended pricing strategies will begin in mid- January and are designed to spotlight the superior benefits of HD DVD as well as the benefits HD DVD brings to a consumer's current DVD library by upconverting standard DVDs via the HDMI(TM) output to near high definition picture quality.
As Toshiba achieved the #1 sales volume in the next generation DVD category with an approximately 50 percent market share in 2007, HD DVD is proven to be the format of choice for consumers. Coupled with an 80 percent plus market share of all next generation DVD equipped notebooks for the 4th quarter 2007, the HD DVD format has already paved the way to a high definition digital AV solution by eliminating the boundaries between the consumer's living room and on the go.
HD DVD not only creates the ultimate high definition entertainment experience, leveraging all of the promise of the format such as superior audio/video performance, Web-enabled network capabilities and advanced interactive features - it also has a high-level of compatibility with DVD. With DVD upconversion via the HDMI output, HD DVD players instantly make a movie lover's existing DVD library look better than ever.
New Marketing Strategy for Mass Market Adoption
Taking the holiday season sales based on promotional prices into full consideration, these new manufacturer's suggested retail prices (MSRP) are designed to meet the potential demand for HD DVD players in the U.S. market. Effective on January 13, 2008 the MSRP of the entry-model HD-A3 will be $149.99, the HD-A30, with 1080p output, $199.99, and the high-end HD-A35, $299.99.
Extended Advertising Campaign
Toshiba plans to execute an extended advertising campaign that will further enhance consumer awareness of the benefits of HD DVD and drive sales to retail among potential consumers. Advertising strategies will include television, print and online media channels. Toshiba will also work with its dealers and studio partners on joint marketing and promotional initiatives to promote HD DVD. Current promotions include "The Perfect HD Offer" - a mail-in offer allowing consumers to select five HD DVD titles for free from a selection of 15 with the purchase of any Toshiba HD DVD player.
Want some good times but can't afford a real 360? Japan's so got your back. And your unmentionables. The SeXbox is a bag of fun that, despite the 360-inspired trimmings, doesn't come with any controllers. Or cables. Or power bricks, or headsets, or even a 360 console.
i was getting sick of changing the KingKong dvd with the SDA loader DISC..
So I went hunting for the possibility to have 1 single dual layer DVD to do all my bidding...
After annoying Ssmurf on IRC he said it is very well possible but the only problem was that the dvd was in 'game' mode and needed to change to regular mode.
BUT you need to have Linux installed on your xbox 360..
so first use KingKong with the normal shader & the gentoo live cd install debian or ubuntu.
Just to be clear I maybe went through the motions but Ssmurf did all the hard work.. for which I'm grateful no more getting up to change the disc! Wink
has been tested on a xbox360 with a Samsung & Hitachi 47DJ with older xtreme versions. But seeing as you won't go on live anymore.
Play football a whole new way with NFL Tour. Take on the league's top players in rock festival type atmospheres under the night skies of America's hottest cities and make a name for yourself in seven-on-seven football. Hold your own against the league's elite and you might earn a spot on an NFL roster.
Microsoft has been slapped with a legal gag which stops the sharing of Live status updates with the community.
MS Live boss Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb announced the news in the latest podcast on his blog. He apologised for continuing problems but stated we'll hear nothing until the lawsuit against the platform holder is resolved.
The legal action in question comes from a trio of Texans unhappy with Live's performance over the Christmas period, as a lot of people were.
They claim Microsoft knew it would have an influx of extra customers on the service but failed to adequately prepare, misrepresenting itself to the public and breaching its contract through negligence. USD 5 million should cover it, apparently.
MS did publicly apologise for the Christmas fiasco and promised to give all Gold subscribers a free Live Arcade title. But that was the last we heard.
The company recently announced the number of Xbox Live users has surpassed 10 million, and that it has sold more than 17 million Xbox 360s around the world. Most in Japan. Shh no don't.
Duke Nukem 3D IS COMING to Xbox Live Arcade, if rumours circulating the internet are to be believed.
"Sources close to 3D Realms" have confirmed that the FPS classic will hit XBLA "within the next several months", IGN is reporting.
It goes on to add that the XBLA-ived up version features a four-player online co-op mode, and that sources have further alleged that eight-player Deathmatch is included too.
You may recall that way back in time - August 2007 to be precise - Duke Nukem dev 3D Realms revealed it wanted to get Duke Nukem 3D onto Xbox Live Arcade.
"Truth be told, we've talked to Microsoft about it and have some people that would port it... Just waiting on the good word from Microsoft to continue," 3D Realms' George Broussard said at the time.
So has the developer finally received that good word?
First-person shooter Duke Nukem 3D originally released in 1996 for PC and its combination of comedy quotes from the wise-cracking Duke and slick and inventive gameplay made it an instant classic.
Following yesterday's report by UK tabloid The Sun, in which Prime Minister Gordon Brown was quoted talking about knife crime and associating it with videogames, the government has moved to dispel concerns that any new crackdown is imminent.
A Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) spokesperson has told GamesIndustry.biz that the report didn't highlight any change in policy, nor did it add anything to the debate.
"The Prime Minister has previously expressed concern about the content of computer games, and their effect on young people, which is why he commissioned the Byron Report.
"We're aware that the games industry is working with the Byron Report to address those concerns."
Paul Jackson, director general of publisher association ELSPA, added:
"We were obviously concerned by the Prime Minister's comments yesterday on knife crime and computer games.
"Since this time we have been reassured by BERR that the government's position in this area has not altered; the Prime Minister remains concerned about the protection of children from access to certain new technologies which is why the government commissioned the Byron Review.
"We have been further reassured that there will be no changes to government policy in this area until Dr Byron publishes her findings at the end of March."
Activision's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has climbed back up to the number one position in the UK all formats charts, as sales across retail continue to fall following the Christmas period.
Sales for the acclaimed first-person shooter were only down 21 per cent, compared to EA's FIFA 2008 which slipped to number two with a sales drop of 50 per cent, and Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed which suffered a 43 per cent fall in sales, although it managed to move up the charts to number three.
EA's The Simpsons Game drops to number four this week with a 53 per cent decline in sales, while Activision's Guitar Hero III manages it's highest chart position at number five, despite sales dropping 30 per cent.
At number six this week is Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 with sales down 42 per cent, and EA's Need for Speed: Pro Street is at seven with a fall in sales of 46 per cent.
Position's eight and nine are occupied by Dr Kawashima's Brain Training and More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima (sales down 26 per cent and 39 per cent, respectively), with Sega's The Golden Compass at ten with a drop in sales of 51 per cent.
No new releases have entered the entire top 40 this week, with the decline in sales across the board a reflection of the traditionally quiet January sales month.
A 1.17GB Turok single-player demo has sneaked its way onto Xbox Live.
The return of the dino-blasting FPS series finds Joseph Turok and an elite squad of soldiers known as Whiskey Company pursuing his former mentor Roland Kane.
Kane has gone rogue and assembled an army on another planet, but as Turok and his team approach, they're shot down by Kane and crash-land in a jungle swarming with dinos and enemy soldiers...
Turok developer Propaganda Games whipped up a bit of controversy with a multiplayer achievement called Grab Bag, which rewards you for killing team mates.
"We are currently looking at readying a patch or solution for it if it does become an issue when the game releases", the developer told CVG. Check back later today for in-game movies.
Team Ninja wants you to come up with some original Achievements for Ninja Gaiden 2.
In our eyes nothing will beat being rewarded 150 Gamerpoints for saving our progress in Bladestorm, but perhaps you have other ideas. And we know how creative you lot can be.
Simply pop over to the MS Gamerscore blog and add your ideas to the comments section, allocating a number of Points for each of your Achievements and describing what each should be awarded for.
We think it is a little serious over there.
Norris Is Next (30gp) - Finish any level on any difficulty only using fully charged heavy attacks.
Ninja Gaiden 2 is a 360 exclusive due out sometime this year. Chances are it will be frightfully difficult, like the first, but with snazzy visuals and buckets of blood.
Quite easy to put a release date in a quarter. You get three months to fart around with and it sounds closer than "2008". Seasons are even worse; no one knows when they begin or end. Yes really. The result is now, in the dreary, dark, damp and depressing months of calendar quarter number one, publishers need to own up and tell us if their game is actually soon to be released or if they were just telling porky pies to look better.
SEGA looks ever so confident with its first quarter stable of contenders, though, brazenly branding 7th March on Condemned 2 and 14th March on Viking: Battle of Asgard - so excited cannot sleep. Others got the same sort of treatment - NiGHTS and Ghost Squad moved forward to this week. Oh, not to forget Football Manager 2008 on Xbox 360, which finally hopped out of the closet with a 28th March tag.
Ubisoft looked a bit bolshy to begin with as well, revealing to everyone that Assassin's Creed was making lots of money so it would push Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, Far Cry 2 and Tom Clancy's EndWar into its next fiscal year (starting in April). Still, there's Dark Messiah of Might & Magic: Elements (360) on 8th February, apparently.
From one eagerly awaited port to another then, as Bully (aka Canis Canem Edit) on 360 and Wii will now be with us on 7th March. Got 9/10 on PS2. One to look forward to while moaning lustily at GTA IV.
Closer still is the PS3 version of Lost Planet, which you may not be too excited about as it is the third version and over two years after the first. But, it will be with us on 29th February. Bet you didn't know that. Did you? We didn't.
Neither did Square Enix, which has absolutely nothing to do with it dating Dragon Quest: Jokers (DS) for release on 14th March. Nothing to do with Atari saying Beautiful Katamari will be out in February, either.
On the darker side of happy we heard Nintendo date Wii Chess for 18th January - we're not sure if we knew that or not - before rousing Internet anger by delaying Super Smash Bros. Brawl by a month in the US. Still no date for Europe. Incidentally, we won't usually cover US dates, but this is quite big news or something.
Frustrating that LittleBigPlanet has been held back until September, too, and that Tomb Raider: Underworld has been manhandled back to Q4. Evil quarters. Get out of my head.
But every cloud has a silver lining, as Konami remains confident Metal Gear Solid 4 will be out in Q2 and the Sin City game shapes up for next year.
As reported earlier this morning a fully operational single-payer Turok demo has been released over Xbox Live.
After stabbing and shooting our way through a more violent version of Jurassic Park, we proudly present a few movies of our findings in the movie player to your right.
So far, so good, we reckon. It's not going to set the world on fire, but it's got enough to keep a fan of the genre busy for a while. Look out for a review closer to launch next month.
Oh but it's already loads better than the last game that wore the name Turok on its sleeve.
We know that Nintendo dominated 2007, with a constant, reliable stream of good news and strong sales. But how did the rest of the competition stack up? We've decided to look back at a full year of sales data from Japanese analyst outlet Media Create, whose sales data we regularly feature in the Simple 2000 Japanese Sales Chart series.
With a license to seemingly print money, Nintendo took 2007 by storm, establishing console and handheld dominance with its two casual friendly game devices. Nintendo DS and Wii dominated software and hardware charts, seeing a steady flow of week to week sales for both platforms, appearing to only weaken when supply was constrained.
Sony's offerings, the PSP, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2, had a solid (if not spectacular) year. The PS3 didn't make any waves, but the PSP did. The PS2, now seven years long in the tooth, still had a bit of life in it.
The Xbox 360? Well, we don't have nice things to say about its Japanese performance, so we'll just let the charts do the talking.
When units of each platform are presented side by side, the stranglehold the Nintendo DS has on the Japanese market becomes apparent. Its weekly sales outpaced every other console's and handheld's performance for nearly the entirety of the year. The only platform to outperform the DS at any point was Sony's PlayStation Portable, aided by a pair of marquee releases (plus a hardware redesign) in the first and third quarters of 2007.
The Nintendo DS saw its largest weekly period sales alongside a few high-profile software releases and in time with holidays, but was less dependent on individual software releases to pull in big numbers. Media Create software sales charts were regularly heavy on DS software, and it wasn't uncommon to see weekly charts feature nothing but DS and Wii software in the top ten—see Dragon Quest Swords and Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings launch weeks and this past week for examples.
In general, however, Nintendo DS sales trends tended not to spike as severely as other platforms did, with sales of older titles such as New Super Mario Bros. and Animal Crossing Wild World still doing solid business for Nintendo, many months after their respective release dates.
When we look at year-to-date sales in handy bar graph form, we get a much better perspective on the share of the Japanese market that Nintendo carved out for itself in 2007. This was the year that Nintendo DS hardware sales surpassed those of the PlayStation 2, with each at about 21 million consoles sold in the nation, lifetime to date. It's an impressive feat for the handheld, as it surpassed that figure in almost exactly 3 years, compared to a 7 year shelf life for Sony's console.
The DS pushed some 7 million-plus units into the hands of Japanese consumers, a third of its total sales. Not a bad year for the platform widely considered a gimmick before its launch.
On Sony's side, 2007 saw the PlayStation 3 outsell the PlayStation 2 in its first full year on the market, with the PSP achieving just shy of one-half of the DS's sales, a similarly impressive feat for a non-Nintendo portable device.
The Xbox 360, despite seeing a handful of video game releases that sold admirably over the year, continued to be a non-factor in the console war overseas. Its annual sales were about a quarter-million, something the Nintendo DS accomplished on a weekly basis multiple times in 2007. Sure, it's a bit apples to oranges, considering the price differences in hardware and software, but its illustrative of consumer tastes in Japan. Microsoft's efforts to appeal to Eastern gaming tastes with a pair of Mistwalker games, hardware bundles and a few exclusives from Namco Bandai were met with flat sales in the nation.
I was browsing through my normal blogs today, and I came across this one "petition" or what ever you want to call it. The guy who owns this site made it for one purpose, and that is to support HD DVD, he creates petitions, etc and apparently his site is visited by a ton of people who want to help out.
I was looking through his recent posts today and I noticed something that, well stood out. He had posted a well typed up letter and a explanation about how the Warner announcement could violate consumer soveringty, in turn this could be brought to the attention of a governments watch dog Beauru.
I don't want to go into great deal about what hes saying, so you could check it out yourselfs. If this guy knows what he is talking about, and enough people send their letters in, Warner aswell as the BDA might be investigated.
SEGA has tidied up some bits and bobs in Virtua Fighter 5 for Xbox 360.
The spattering of updates are available to grab from Live now, and cover all sorts from pants (you mean trousers you freakin' awesome) to rematches.
On the costume side of things you can now mix trousers and tops, and use additional downloadable items.
Replays of Live fights can be saved these days, you can have a rematch with someone even if they're not on your friends list, and connection speed now shows when people join your game. Gamer pictures will display properly as well.
Better still, when you win the World Tournament Final you are more likely to see non-defeated opponents in arcades. Like the one on Brighton Pier near that ride that makes us sick. Or the one on West Street with Daytona and old ladies and smelly men and tourists silly enough to go in.
Elsewhere some minor bug fixes and better ranking organisation.
Virtua Fighter 5 took a while to make its way to 360, eventually arriving last October, but still scored high thanks to some fresh additions and online battles. It has all the latest arcade changes, for starters, and a DOJO area to practice your punches.
All that's useless without performance enhancing gamer drugs, though.
Up, up, left, down, right to the Virtua Fighter 5 review to find out more.
Capcom is reviving the NES original version of Bionic Commando as a downloadable game in the modern era.
The new version of the game will be made available as a downloadable title through both PSN on PS3 and XBLA for 360.
That's extent of the details Capcom was willing to share with Famitsu (via Gamefront) but we expect it'll pack shiny new graphics, the usual achievements for the 360 version, and possibly even some new XBL-related features.
It's probably no coincidence that a new Bionic Commando game is also due for release later this year on PS3, 360 and PC, and you can read our hands-on review of that now. Go on, it's looking pretty good.
Though all the pretty colors and No One Lives Forever-esque art direction is enough to keep commoners like us entertained by Team Fortress 2, it's what's going on under the hood that's really important to the hardcore legion of fans. In an email to one member of that community, Valve's Robin Walker reveals a few changes incoming for the pyro and soldiers classes, part of the "large scale modification to the core of the game" Walker talked about earlier this month.
For the pyros, they're going to be receiving points for every enemy they ignite, making mass burnings not just fun, but profitable. Walker's a little more vague about soldiers, saying the team wants them to be "a little more careful firing their rockets at point blank targets." As TF2 newbs we have no idea what she means, but we imagine some of you commenters will have a few ideas.
Halo hero Master Chief would be demoted to supporting cast in the movie based on the FPS series, should the flick ever see the light of day.
"I think what it boiled down to with the film was really a question of 'Who is the main character of the movie?' Is it the Master Chief or is it somebody else? And over time I think everybody around the table agreed that the Master Chief is best left as the most important supporting cast member," Bungie writing director Joseph Staten has revealed.
Staten explained that the faceless nature of Master Chief and his emoting through physical movement only would have been hard to carry as a main character for an entire film.
"But", he added, "you can certainly surround him with people who don't have helmets on and you can see their faces. They're normal actors doing their thing."
Staten went on to say about the movie script that Bungie worked on the whole Master Chief's anonymity breeding mystery angle.
"In the final version of the script the Master Chief was certainly absolutely critical to the film, but there were other characters around him which carried most of it, that did most of the emotional heavy lifting. The Master Chief was there in support of their story."
The Halo movie's been off and on - seemingly doomed after Hollywood heavyweights Fox and Universal backed away from the project - and Staten speaks as though the plug has been pulled. However, the last we heard was that prep work on the Halo film continues.
ith the post-Christmas lull in new key title releases, the charts across Europe are showing no sign of real change, and Nintendo continues to fill the majority of the top ten chart slots in both Spain and Germany.
More Brain Training actually sat top of both charts in the data provided by Media-Control GfK International for the week ending January 6, with Germany putting Super Mario Galaxy in second and Mario & Sonic at the Olympics in third.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was fourth, with Eye Training, Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Mario Party DS following.
Need for Speed ProStreet took eighth, while the original Brain Training was ninth and World of Warcraft made a surprise re-entry to the top ten in tenth place.
Spain's top three also consisted of Nintendo platform titles, with both Brain Training titles in the top two, followed by Super Mario Galaxy in third.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 took fourth place, with Imagine Babyz, WWE Smackdown! vs Raw 2008 and SingStar Latino next in the list.
Assassin's Creed for the PlayStation 3 was in eighth with Need for Speed ProStreet and New Super Mario Bros rounding off the top ten.
The full charts are as follows:
Germany:
1. More Brain Training with Dr Kawashima (DS)
2. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
3. Mario & Sonic at the Olympics (Wii)
4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC)
5. Eye Training (DS)
6. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
7. Mario Party DS (DS)
8. Need for Speed ProStreet (PS2)
9. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (DS)
10. World of Warcraft
Spain:
1. More Brain Training with Dr Kawashima (DS)
2. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (DS)
3. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
4. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2)
5. Imagine Babyz (DS)
6. WWE Smackdown! vs Raw 2008 (PS2)
7. SingStar Latino (PS2)
8. Assassin's Creed (PS3)
9. Need for Speed ProStreet (PS2)
10. New Super Mario Bros (DS)
The ad for the 18-rated third-person action game featured a prolonged shoot-out between four men. During the gunfight a voiceover stated, "Honour is his code. Vengeance is his mission. Violence is his only option. John Woo presents Stranglehold. The next generation of action gaming has arrived."
The ASA received complaints about the advertisement from at least two viewers. One argued that the commercial “glorified violence and gun crime and that it was a dangerous incitement to susceptible people”, while another challenged whether it was acceptable for transmission before the 9pm watershed.
The agency responsible for the commercial, Picture Production Company, said that it had edited the footage to ensure bullets were seen to be fired into mid-air and did not result in any character or person being shot. It also argued that it was clear to viewers that the ad featured animated game play and not real-life violence.
In its assessment of the advert the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said that that the shooting was almost continuous throughout, and noted the realistic appearance of the violence, even though it was computer-generated.
“We considered the voice-over… suggested that it was honorable to seek revenge and that violence was an acceptable solution to a situation,” said the watchdog.
“We considered the ad was likely to be seen as encouraging and condoning violence. Because the issues raised by the ad could not be addressed with a timing restriction, we considered the only solution was to withdraw the ad from transmission completely.”
Midway declined to comment on the ban when contacted by Next-Gen.
Rockstar has released twelve new screenshots showing off the significant graphical overhaul in the soon-to-be released Bully: Scholarship Edition.
Originally released on the PS2 as Canis Canem Edit (at least for the UK), Bully went on to sell half a million copies on British shores alone and won a Writers Guild Award in November 2007 for best writing in a game.
The game is set to hit Xbox 360 and Wii consoles on March 7, and includes new missions and modes for those already familiar with the game.
For more information on the upcoming Bully: Scholarship edition, take a look at our exclusive new preview for a first-hand report on game.
Game Genie, Game Shark, plus clasical cheats for Sega, Nintendo, Sony PS, XBox, PC/MAC games, and much more. All in a single CHM file with full text search.
MTV recently spoke with the lawyer behind the Xbox Live outage class-action lawsuit who is seeking $5 million in damages. Attorney Jason Gibson, a consumer-fraud attorney, comes off very well in the piece and diffuses criticisms that his clients are just cashing in by saying, "When you have one person who is mad and they can't get a response, and they can't get their complaints addressed by a company like Microsoft, the only way to get their attention is in numbers." Gibson says his clients (who are college-educated and in their late 20s and 30s) are not expecting a "windfall or anything like that," they just want to be reimbursed for services not delivered.
Gibson says that others are joining in on the suit and that Microsoft put the cart before the horse this holiday with Xbox Live. He claims that the manufacturer took money for Xbox Live subscriptions without being able to provide the service promised, and that the service should have been ready to handle an influx of consumers. As much as we're happy that Microsoft is giving us a free game for all the drama, the infrastructure should certainly have been there to provide service by this point in Xbox Live's life.
Microsoft's continued expansion of the Xbox Live Video Marketplace is a calculated move hailing the delivery of content exclusively via digital downloads. HD movie downloads aren't widely available on the Internet yet, making XBL Video Marketplace's direct download options an alluring attraction, even if they do cost $6 a piece. Not limited to the Xbox 360's userbase, however, is Apple, who today announced the introduction of HD movie downloads over iTunes.
The initial library of HD movies on iTunes is relatively small, with only 100 available (and more coming). What's different on iTunes, however, is the price: $5 per HD rental. Sure, a single dollar isn't massive, but worth considering cumulatively. The difference, however, is iTunes' inability to stream an HD rental to your HDTV without the aid of the company's Apple TV box, which now costs $229.
Stevenotes? Meh. The suit-and-tie speech that's getting gamers riled up this morning is Microsoft's GDC keynote, which promises big news about the Xbox 360's upcoming year in software.
Corporate vice president of Live, software and services John Schappert, who joined the company in August coming from Electronic Arts, will deliver an address on Wednesday, February 20 called "A Future Wide Open: Unleashing the Creative Community." In an email announcing the keynote, the GDC described it thusly:
"Schappert's keynote explores the Xbox 360 platform's next step in democratizing game development, vastly opening up the industry for developers of all sizes. The session will set the strategy for Xbox 360 this upcoming year, revealing top developers' plans for the platform in 2008. Schappert will discuss how the increasing role of online gaming will continue to shape gameplay and game distribution this year. (emphasis ours)"
According to simExchange's predictions, they believe the Xbox 360 sold 1.45 million consoles in December with the Wii moving 1.73 million and the PS3 selling 854,000 consoles. And if their estimates are correct, then we must give the 360 a pat on the back for keeping its distance from the PS3 and closing the gap on Wii sales, even if there were "shortages".
What a week for acquisition rumors as Microsoft is rumored to be after peripheral pimp - Logitech and internet king - Yahoo.
Logitech has long been known as a computer peripheral maker that likes to dabble in console controllers and add-ons. Microsoft has scaled back it's own peripheral manufacturing over the last couple years. If Logitech were to be purchased by MS, it could mean we would see a host of new and quality gaming gizmos for the Xbox 360 and next generation of Xbox hardware. With a quality track record for racing wheels and controllers, there's no doubt MS could benefit from dipping into the R&D department of Logitech for gaming related peripherals.
Next up is the Yahoo acquisition rumor. This rumor has spread like wild fire since word broke from the New York Post. The reason gamers should be interested in an MS purchase of Yahoo is simple. Yahoo is the number one internet site in the world and the biggest competitor to Google on just about every front. Yahoo has R&D going on for just about everything imaginable that has to do with internet technologies. This includes digital delivery services of video and gaming content. And due to recent issues with XBL, we all know MS could use any new help they can get in bettering their online services.
Something to think about: MSN combined with Yahoo. MSN Zone (online gaming) combined with Yahoo games. The list goes on and thanks to the trickle down effect; it could only make Xbox gaming better.
Gamers love cult movies. It was only a matter of time before the '80s classic The Highlander made its way to the videogame realm. The tale of immortals who lop one another's heads off is coming to PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 this year courtesy of Eidos.
In Highlander: The Game, you play as Owen MacLeod, ancestor of the feature film's Connor MacLeod. Born in Gaul more than two millennia ago, Owen is the son of a tribal chieftain. As is the popular trend of the times, Owen's village is invaded and he becomes prisoner of the mighty Roman Empire. Forced into gladiatorial combat in Pompeii, Owen gets himself killed. Good news for Owen: he's immortal. Rising from the dead, Owen begins a journey through the centuries, learning to become an incredible fighter (and lopper of immortal heads).
The story eventually lands us in a futuristic New York City, where Owen is being hunted by a mysterious all-powerful immortal. The only way Owen can defeat this nemesis is to find three missing stone fragments that, when placed together, grant the wielder immense power.
Not that Owen doesn't have some serious power sans mystical stone. He is, after all, immortal and can only die if he loses his head. This allows for some interesting combat techniques. Owen can use his body as a conduit for electricity or fire, disarm enemies by purposefully impaling himself on their weapons, and survive great falls. Each time Owen chops the head off an immortal, he experiences The Quickening. Think of it as an mystical orgasm, where the knowledge and power of the victim is consumed by the slayer. Over the length of his journey, Owen learns new combat skills and uses a variety of swords. Expect to heft a claymore, katana and twin gladius as you cut your way from the heart of the Roman Empire to Times Square.
"Eidos is excited to present the classic Highlander franchise for the next generation of video gamers," said Robert A. Lindsey, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Eidos Inc. "Gamers will get the chance to explore the powers and abilities that only being an Immortal has to offer. Highlander boasts an incredible level of graphical quality and gameplay capabilities such as an advanced sword fighting combat system and destructible environments."
"For the first time, Highlander comes to fans in a new medium that allows players to dive into the Immortal universe," said Peter Davis of Davis-Panzer Productions. "The interactive experience permits players to gain a completely different perspective of the mythos, and experience the powers and advantages of immortality through the eyes of a MacLeod."
The Highlander is written by David Abramowitz, who also wrote for the TV show. It uses the Unreal Engine, which means it will likely be quite pretty. Look for it later this year.
A surprising amount of game developers are providing downloadable game demos as an after thought, says Xbox Live games portfolio manager David Edery, who has provided a list of suggestions for creating a decent trial.
"A downloadable game's trial is everything! If someone doesn't enjoy your trial, then they probably won't buy your game," Edery says on his blog.
"It doesn't matter if you licensed the three greatest IP of all time and fused them into the holy trinity of game design itself. If the trial stinks, most people won't bother to lift the curtain on the full experience."
Edery's seven commandments for creating a decent game demo include: Don't confuse or frustrate the player, Don't make the player wait for the fun, Don't make the trial too short, Don't make the trial too long, Intensify the player's curiosity, Work that upsell message and Show off your best features.
"When ending the trial, that upsell screen is (potentially) the last thing your customer will see. Every other trial is promising 'more levels,' 'more characters,' blah blah etc," the XBL man notes.
"Why is your game different? If you don't have an answer to that question, this tip may not be so useful.. but then again, maybe trying a little wit (or something else that's memorable and positive) will help?"
Then again, it's easy for Microsoft to tell developers how do make decent demos; we're still waiting for our Mass Effect, Gears of War and Halo 3 trials, lads...
A playable demo of FIFA Street 3 is now available for download via Xbox Live Marketplace - more than a month before the game's planned February 22 release.
The latest edition of the arcade footy series is a complete overhaul of past games, with a brand new art style (that strangely resembles Team Fortress), and faster, more accessible gameplay.
There's currently no date set for a PSN demo, but hopefully it'll be out within a week or so.
Read all about the new tricks in store in this preview.
Hit the movie player for a two-minute clip of us playing the game really badly. It actually reminded us a little of playing in the school yard. With the posh kids that had all the fancy tricks and us that used to boot it as hard as we could. "Ave it" as Kay says in that classic John Smith ad.
Microsoft has accidentally leaked the January downloadable content schedule for Rock Band.
Most of it has now been removed, but 1UP claims the original Xbox.com list featured none other than pretentious rock siblings Oasis.
Supposedly the band will offer up Don't Look Back in Anger, Live Forever and Wonderwall on the week beginning 22nd January.
Not our first choices. Surely Cigarettes & Alcohol or I Am the Walrus or The Importance of Being Idle would have been a little more, er, rock. That's what our two minutes of trying to remember Oasis songs so we'd sound clever threw up, anyway.
They will be followed a week later by a Progressive Pack featuring Siva by Smashing Pumpkins, Working Man as made famous by Rush, and Ten Speed as made famous by Coheed and Cambria.
Alas, Rock Band will not be out in Europe until sometime this first quarter.
Those who have it can look forward to Last Train to Clarksville as made famous by The Monkees, All the Small Things by Blink-182, and Action as made famous by Sweet.
Will wonders never cease? In one week, Alone in the Dark went from being released in March to being released in September to "not delayed until September, but we're not saying when it's actually coming out." Now, according to CVG, the survival horror title will drop on the Xbox 360, Wii, PC and PS2 in May of 2008. As you may have noticed, the PS3 is absent from that list, and with good reason: That version is now due "sometime in 2008." That's especially interesting to those who have been following the AITD release drama, as Atari previously said that the PS3 version would arrive day-and-date with its brethren on other consoles.
We have to admit that we're still looking forward to getting our hands on the game, if only to see if all the delays were time well spent. If we could be so bold though, could we suggest that the game ship with a special bonus copy of Chinese Democracy?
The lawyer representing the three Texas-based gamers who are suing Microsoft for damages in excess of $5 million over Xbox Live outages has spoken out for the first time about the case.
"These are not guys looking to get rich," said Jason Gibson, the plaintiffs' lawyer, in an interview with MTV News. "They are in their late 20s and 30s. They are college-educated. These are not young kids who just turned 18 and [want] to sue for the fun of it. This is, to them, a real issue."
Gibson's clients are gamers Keith Kay, Orlando Perez and Shannon Smith, who filed a class-action lawsuit against Microsoft on January 4 following troubles accessing the platform holder's Xbox Live online gaming service over the Christmas period. Gibson also said that more than 50 other plaintiffs have joined Kay, Smith and Perez in the suit.
As previously reported, Microsoft claimed that the Xbox Live problems, which it put down to unprecedented service activity over the holiday period, had been fixed. A minority of reports claim this to be untrue, stating that problems signing in to Xbox Live, matchmaking and account recovery issues persist.
Unfortunately for those users, the lawsuit, which claims that "Microsoft knew the increase in subscriptions would increase game-play on its servers, yet failed to provide adequate access and service to Xbox Live and its subscribers," is now prohibiting Microsoft from providing status updates regarding the functionality of Xbox Live.
"When you have one person who is mad and they can't get a response, and they can't get their complaints addressed by a company like Microsoft, the only way to get their attention is in numbers," said Gibson, who claims he's never lost a trial.
"They take the money for the subscriptions, but they don't make sure that the service is going to be there. They kind of put the cart before the horse. To me, you make sure the service is going to be there. Make sure the product is going to be there. And then feel good about taking money for the service and the product."
Microsoft recently announced that more than ten million people have subscribed to its Xbox Live service. It says it will continue to communicate with its customers through "our normal channels, such as Xbox.com and other means".
It all started in the second week of January with Microsoft confirming the departure of Bruce Jaffe, Corporate Vice President, Corporate Development. But Jaffe signaled only the beginning of what was to come. It is hard not to look at Jaffe as a trend setter, but the fact of the matter is that lately Microsoft top executives have illustrated an increased tendency to leave the Redmond company.
With Jaffe out to put his own start-up on its feet, the next on the list was Jeff Raikes, President of the Microsoft Business Division.
After Raikes, it was the turn of Charles Fitzgerald, Microsoft's General Manager of Platform Strategy, to leave the company in favor of a start-up.
And then there were four. Microsoft top executives continued to drop like flies with Short, Corporate Vice President for Windows Core.
And of course that in the background, there is the shadow cast by Bill Gates' own imminent departure as of mid 2008. Although with Gates it's a whole deal entirely as his transition plans out of Microsoft were announced as early as 2006.
Introducing the new Highspeed air cooler v2, for Xbox 360, and compatible with the HDMI version console.
External Xbox 360 air coolers can only cool the temperature of the Xbox 360's outer Surface but do not cool the temperature of the CPU/GPU; therefore, making them useless to combat CPU/GPU overheating. The XCM high speed air cooler directly cools the 360 CPU and GPU. Using internal temperature measuring devices, this product monitors the temperature of the 360 CPU and GPU. XCM high speed air cooler's external controller will allow you to control the speed of the fan while it monitors the temperature of the 360 CPU and GPU. AUTO mode will automatically adjust the fan speed depending on the temperature of the CPU and GPU.
Up until yesterday, the living room set-top box was simply a "hobby" for Apple; its fumbled Apple TV product did little to unseat the HD video rental download champ, the largely uncontested Xbox Live Video Marketplace. With a fresh splash of software for new boxes and a free upgrade for current users, Apple TV Take 2 is giving it another shot.
Of course, for an audience of gamers (that's us!), Apple's product has a particularly severe handicap but, on a strictly video entertainment scale, it manages to best the Xbox Live Video Marketplace in just about every category. Now we realize this is, in many ways, an apples to oranges comparison (sorry), but Microsoft isn't just competing for gamer dollars anymore and competition is growing (in fact, the at-home-rental set-top box industry will see another entrant later this year with Netflix).
Welcome to this week's Games & Toys update, our weekly summary featuring all new product arrivals from the last seven days.
It's been another rather calm release week, with just eight (+one Limited Edition) releases in Japan as well as a few new US version game arrivals. Highlights this week have been EA's NFL Tour (PlayStation3™ / Xbox360™), Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (Wii™ Japanese / Wii™ US / PS2™ US) and Capcom's multi platform Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law.
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™:
Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights JPN US$ 64.90
Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom US US$ 64.90
NFL Tour US US$ 54.90
PlayStation3™:
NFL Tour US US$ 59.90
Nintendo Wii™:
Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law US US$ 49.90
Luxor: Pharaoh's Challenge US US$ 44.90
Sonic Riders: Shooting Star Story JPN US$ 59.90
Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity US US$ 49.90
PlayStation2™:
Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Channel US US$ 39.90
Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Channel Bundle US US$ 59.90
Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law US US$ 39.90
Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights JPN US$ 49.90
School Days LxH JPN US$ 64.90
School Days LxH [First Print Limited Edition] JPN N/A
Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity US US$ 44.90
World Champion Paintball US US$ 24.90
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Beginning of Destiny US US$ 34.90
Nintendo DS™:
Brain Challenge US US$ 24.90
Code Geass System Carrying Case (Blue) JPN N/A
Code Geass System Carrying Case (Brown) JPN US$ 14.90
Dragon Ball Z Carrying Case - Goku JPN US$ 12.90
Dragon Ball Z Carrying Case - Shinryu JPN US$ 12.90
Elements of Destruction US US$ 24.90
From the Abyss JPN US$ 48.90
Jackass: The Game US US$ 34.90
Touch de Zuno! DS JPN US$ 39.90
Sony PSP™:
Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law US US$ 34.90
Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 ASIA US$ 42.90
PC Games (Adult):
Discipline: The Record of the Crusade US US$ 26.90
Toys & More:
Devil May Cry 3 NoScale ArtFx Statue - Vergil JPN N/A
Dragon Ball Z Flash Key Ring JPN US$ 5.90
Dragon Ball Z Non Scale Pre-Painted Candy Toy JPN US$ 2.49
Fist of the North Star Non Scale Final Ulitmate Box Set Pre-Painted: Raoh & Kokuoh-Go 200X JPN US$ 139.90
Hot Gimmick 3 Digital Surfing 1/7 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Novia (Pink Hair Version) JPN US$ 59.90
Monster Hunter - Pinky P-Chara Bone Hunter: Poon (Equipment Vers) JPN US$ 19.90
Monster Hunter - Pinky P-Chara Kosu Hunter: Monchan JPN N/A
Monster Hunter - Pinky P-Chara Sword Hunter: Leia (Equipment Vers.) JPN N/A
Nohohon Cherry Pink Type US$ 9.90
Nohohon Honey White Type US$ 9.90
Player Select Soul Reaver Pre-Painted Action Figure: Material World Raziel US US$ 15.90
Player Select Soul Reaver Pre-Painted Action Figure: Spirit World Raziel US US$ 15.90
Revoltech Yamaguchi Series No.043 Ironman 28 Non Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Ironman 28 JPN N/A
Rio Calendar 2007 Super Black Jack - 1/7 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Rio JPN N/A
Shakugan no Shana 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure - Shana (Himitsu Ver.) JPN US$ 59.90
Shakugan no Shana 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure - Shana (Nekomimi Ver.) JPN US$ 59.90
Shinkyoku Soukai Polyphonica 1/8 Scale Painted PVC Figure: Koutikarute Apa Raguranjesu JPN N/A
Shuraki Trinity Box 3 1/8 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Char Rhousemann JPN N/A
Tales of Phantasia One Coin Figures JPN US$ 5.90
Togainu's Blood - PS2 Soft Sale commemoration Non Scale Pre-Painted Soft Vinyl Figure: Arubidoro JPN US$ 29.90
Video Game Soundtracks:
Fairchild GM Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 33.90
Nights-Hoshi Furu Yoru No Monogatari-Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 36.90
Ryusei No Rockman 1&2 Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 31.90
Here is a quick preview of what is expected to be hot. Please note that Nintendo's Dairantou Smash Brothers X / Super Smash Bros. Brawl has been pushed back for one week, now shipping January 31st.
Xbox360™:
Lost Odyssey (English language Version) ASIA US$ 49.90
PlayStation2™:
Lucky * Star JPN US$ 64.90
Lucky * Star [DX Pack] JPN US$ 89.90
Nintendo DS™:
Hijouguchi: Exit DS JPN US$ 48.90
The Prince of Tennis: Driving Smash! Side King JPN US$ 48.90
The Prince of Tennis: Driving Smash! Side King [Konamistyle Part.12 Special Edition] JPN US$ 139.90
Sony PSP™:
Winning Eleven Ubiquitous Evolution 2008 ASIA US$ 42.90
Winning Eleven Ubiquitous Evolution 2008 JPN US$ 48.90
Yggdra Union JPN US$ 48.90
Yggdra Union ASIA US$ 42.90
Born On The Fourth of July HK US$ 27.90
Evan Almighty (~Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, ...) HK US$ 31.90
Farewell I Tour: Live From Melbourne (~Eagles) HK US$ 24.90
King Kong (~Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, ...) HK US$ 31.90
The Good Shepherd (~Alec Baldwin, Matt Damon, ...) HK US$ 31.90
The Lawless US US$ 13.98
The Scorpion King (~The Rock, Michael Clarke Duncan, ...) HK US$ 27.90
The Thing (~Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, ...) HK US$ 27.90
Wii Fit sat top of the latest Japanese software chart in a quiet week for sales as the end of year rush fell away.
There were no new entries in the top twenty, and Nintendo's activity title sold just 90,000 units compared to the previous week's number one seller which sold over twice that number.
Nintendo platform titles continued to dominate in the sales week ending January 13 according to Media Create data, taking nine of the top ten positions and 16 of the top 20, as Mario Party DS and Wii Sports rounded out the top three.
Final Fantasy IV was fourth, while the lone non-Nintendo platform game - Monster Hunter Portable 2nd for the PlayStation Portable - was fifth.
Most of the rest of the top ten was taken up with top Nintendo-based franchises, while the week's highest new entry was Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the Xbox 360 at number 22 - two places above the next highest new entry, Mario Strikers Charged for the Wii.
The full top ten follows:
1. Wii Fit (Wii)
2. Mario Party DS (DS)
3. Wii Sports (Wii)
4. Final Fantasy IV (DS)
5. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd (PSP)
6. Prof Layton and Pandora's Box (DS)
7. Dragon Quest IV (DS)
8. Wii Play (Wii)
9. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii)
10. Mario Kart DS (DS)
The NPD Group has released its US hardware and software sales data for the month of December, bringing the year's total sales to USD 18 billion.
That figure represents a 43 per cent increase over 2006's total sales of USD 12.5 billion.
On the hardware side, NPD estimates that 8.5 million DS handhelds were sold in 2007, more than twice the 3.82 million PSP handhelds sold by Sony.
Nintendo sold 6.29 million Wii consoles, Microsoft sold 4.62 million Xbox 360 consoles, and Sony sold 2.56 million PS3 consoles during the year.
Sony also sold 3.97 million PS2 consoles in 2007, bringing its life-to-date sales to 41.12 million.
The year's Top Ten best-selling games in the US were:
1. Halo 3 (360) - 4.82 million
2. Wii Play w/ remote (Wii) - 4.12 million
3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (360) - 3.04 million
4. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) - 2.72 million
5. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - 2.52 million
6. Pokemon Diamond (DS) - 2.48 million
7. Madden NFL 08 (PS2) - 1.90 million
8. Guitar Hero 2 (PS2) - 1.89 million
9. Assassin's Creed (360) - 1.87 million
10. Mario Party 8 (Wii) - 1.82 million
In Japan, all listed consoles have sales slashed back to normal levels. Seems like the excitement has gone away I guess. The figures are displayed as follows below:
Nintendo DS Lite: 97,369
PSP: 96,159
Wii: 84,530
PS3: 38,907
PS2: 14,499
Xbox 360: 4,690
All console maintain the same positions as last weeks' reading. PSP just some 1,300 behind the DS Lite while the Xbox 360 still fares badly.
To date Eidos has only seen fit to grace us with environment screenshots from its Highlander game, but today finally, finally, we're getting in-game action.
And, oh yes, there's blood, but we're still being denied decapitation, probably in order to avoid the righteous ire of the Daily Mail.
In addition to the action screens there's a couple of new environmental shots - which we have to say are none too shabby - and the direct-feed version of the Highlander teaser trailer that appeared on the 'net earlier in the week.
Highlander's a third-person action adventure in development for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC and out this year. Let's just hope Eidos nails the sword combat.
On Wednesday this week news broke that Capcom is set to resurrect the original NES Bionic Commando for the 21st century, and here are first screens and movie to prove it.
Bionic Commando Rearmed is set to release via digital download this spring on Live Arcade, PSN and PC and features the same 2D side-scrolling, shooting and grappling action as the 1988 original, but it's all been nicely revamped.
Not only are we getting an expected visual overhaul but Capcom's not left the gameplay stone unturned either. It's introducing new weapons, online rankings, a reworked musical score and a two-player co-op mode.
Apparently Rearmed even unlocks new content for the 'next generation' Bionic Commando currently in development, and spills secrets on that game's plot.
For anyone unfamiliar with the original Bionic Commando game, the side-scrolling action-platformer starred a weapon-toting lead character that also happened to sport a bionic arm that acted like a grappling hook which allowed him to navigate around levels.
Nothing says "sorry" like a free game, and so, due to previous – and reportedly ongoing – Xbox Live service issues, Microsoft is going to offer Undertow free for download beginning next Wednesday, at 2 am PST, through Sunday. Two weeks ago, Xbox Live GM Marc Whitten posted a letter to Live subscribers apologizing for poor performance during the holidays and promising a freebie was on the way. There are currently no plans to offer a substitute game for those who already own Undertow.
Before winning the majority of Hollywood studio support, those partial to the Blu-ray format have primarily relied on a few points to make their case: more storage and rocketing sales at the ratio of 2:1 to HD DVD. Those are bullshit arguments. As consumers, we should have only been looking at what each format delivered and in that case, HD DVD was a more stable platform with more features on almost every disc that was offered in both. It's a moot point now, because the platform with more content deserves to win, but here's why I wish HD DVD wasn't on its knees:
When Wilson compared the same discs in each format, Harry Potter 300, HD DVD had many, many more features. Proof is in the pudding:
The difference is still less subtle when comparing the two editions of 300:
Blu ray could technically support a lot of that functionality, according to the spec, but the trick here is that most of the spec is not and still isn't mandatory. And even when all the Blu ray players on the market are up to the final spec, whenever that may be, the majority of the original players will still not support extras, so why would anyone develop those extras? They won't. A stair-stepped roll out of what each player must have to be spec compliant has severely limited the Blu format, despite all that great storage capacity. And this might take a very long time to fix, if it ever does.
Xbox 360 Drives the Video Game Console Industry in 2007: NPD data released today confirms consumers spent more dollars on Xbox 360 in 2007, with more than $13.7 billion in total consumer spending. Xbox 360 won 2007 with $4.8 billion in total consumer spend compared to Wii with $3.5 billion and PlayStation 3 with $2.2 billion. This wraps up a historic year, with NPD reporting consumers have spent nearly 45 percent of total industry figures on Xbox 360.
Here is a quick snapshot of what is driving revenue for Xbox 360, based on the latest reports from NPD and Microsoft data:
XBOX 360 WIDENS THE GAP OVER PS3 WITH CONSOLE SALES: According to NPD, Xbox 360 sold 1.3 million consoles in December alone, and has steadily widened the gap between Sony's PlayStation 3 console sales. In December, NPD stated that Sony sold 798,000 PS3 hardware units. Since PS3's launch in November 2006, Xbox 360 has outsold PS3 by nearly 2:1 on average, bringing a total U.S. Xbox 360 install base of 9.2 million consoles, compared to and installed base of 7.4 million Wii consoles and 3.3 million PS3 consoles.
GAMES DRIVE INDUSTRY GROWTH: Xbox 360 robust games portfolio spans across the highest-ranked AAA titles to the largest collection of "Everyone" and "Teen" rated games. According to NPD, of the top 20 best-selling titles in 2007 for this generation, 11 were on Xbox 360; while only seven were sold on the Wii and two sold on the PS3.
* NPD reported that this holiday's leading multiplatform blockbusters continue to sell better on Xbox 360:
o "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" for Xbox 360 was the leading game last month with 1.5 million copies sold, outselling the PS3 version nearly 3:1.
o "Assassin's Creed" for Xbox 360 was the fourth best selling title, having sold 894,000 units. It outsold the PS3 version more than 2:1.
o "Guitar Hero III" outsold the PS3 nearly 2:1, having sold 625,000 copies.
o "Rockband" continues to rock the charts, selling 463,000 units for the Xbox 360 platform, compared to 174,000 units for the PS3
* To date, 33 third party games on Xbox 360 hit the top 10 list across all consoles compared to five third party games on PS3, and four on Wii. These results confirm that third party partners create better games and reap more sales on Xbox 360 than any other platform.
* In its fourth month on the market, Halo 3 continued its strong performance and was the sixth best selling title in December, selling another 742,000 units. In 2007, NPD projects that Halo 3 has sold 4.8 million units in the U.S. since its launch in September.
* Xbox 360 continues to lead in number of games sold per console, setting another record with an attach rate of 7.0 games per console.
XBOX LIVE SETS NEW HEIGHTS: Xbox LIVE's network is 10 million members strong and growing, achieving membership goals six months ahead of schedule. Only on Xbox LIVE can members experience the largest catalog of on-demand, high-definition content in the U.S., including movies and television shows from our most recent partners: Disney-ABC Television Group and MGM Studios.
We're not slowing down in 2008. The next versions of powerhouse franchises like "Grand Theft Auto," "Resident Evil" and sports games like "Madden", "FIFA", and "Pro Evolution Soccer" open up a new arena for game play on Xbox 360. This year we will make great strides toward improving our brand appeal to consumers interested in more physical game play. With titles like "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock," "Rock Band" and "Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action" we're creating interactive experiences on Xbox 360 for the entire family.
Having a free trial does not exempt a downloadable game from taking advantage of PR; not even in XBLA, where every game gets downloaded by a large number of people. Why? Two reasons. First, that "large number of people" could be a lot larger. 2x (or more times) larger, in fact. Just because a lot of people download every game that comes their way doesn't mean you can afford to ignore the people who don't. Plenty of consumers only think to download the titles they are familiar with -- that's why licensed IP is so popular with many publishers.
Second, conversion rates are influenced by anticipation. This is easy enough to understand. Imagine being faced with two games, both of relatively equal quality. One has been hyped in the press for months. One is unheard of. Your friends are all talking about the first game. You yourself have been looking forward to it. But the other game is just as good. Which are you going to buy?
The trial... it's not just the first five minutes of your game
It's surprising how many developers don't think about their game's trial experience until the very last minute of the development process. A downloadable game's trial is everything! If someone doesn't enjoy your trial, then they probably won't buy your game. It doesn't matter if you licensed the three greatest IP of all time and fused them into the holy trinity of game design itself. If the trial stinks, most people won't bother to lift the curtain on the full experience.
* Don't confuse or frustrate the player
* Don't make the player wait for the fun
* Don't make the trial too short
* Don't make the trial too long
* Intensify the player's curiosity
* Work that upsell message
* Show off your best features
Baroque, a role-playing game on the way for the Wii and PlayStation 2 from Japanese developer Sting, has been pushed back a month, according to the game's publisher, Atlus.
Here's what Atlus had to say when they announced the game back in December:
"You awaken to find the world in ruin, your heart beset with unexplained guilt. A cataclysm has destroyed the cities and empires of men and disfigured the spirit of humanity. In this nightmare, it falls to you to descend a mysterious tower in search of absolution. Battle merciless foes through treacherous dungeons, scour for new items to aid you in your travels, and unlock the secrets of a devastated land. You will find death in the depths, yet learn that death is not the end of the story; in the twisted world of Baroque, it is only the beginning."
Dark stuff, that.
Atlus has also released new details about the Wii version of Baroque:
- 16:9 widescreen support
- Progressive scan support
- "Subtle" motion control integration for power attacks
- "Intuitive" controls using Wii Remote and nunchuk
- Classic Controller support for traditional play
Here are some of the items and weapons that will be available in the game, with descriptions by Atlus, followed by our thoughts in italics:
Angelic Rifle - A uniquely shaped rifle that can annihilate any meta-being with one shot. However, its specialized ammunition is very limited.
Sword - A melee weapon to attack the enemy. There are swords that will possess enhanced attributes and added effects.
Coat - Protective gear to resist attacks. There are some coats that will have other effects besides just raising defense.
Torturer - Item that causes a variety of area effects depending on the type of Torturer. They can be combined with others to enhance their effects.
Parasite - It can grant a variety of effects by fusing it with the protagonist or equipment. You can also fuse a parasite with another parasite.
Wings - Imitation wings that provide the protagonist with special abilities
Flesh - Eat this to restore HP. Rotten flesh will cause stomachaches.
Heart - Eat this to restore VT. Rotten hearts will cause stomachaches.
Bone - Bite on it to restore HP or VT or throw it at the enemy to deal damage. Because they are small in size, the protagonist can hold quite a few of these
Fluid - Liquid that gives an instantaneous effect by injecting it into the protagonist. Most of them can heal status ailments and raise stats.
Box - An item is usually in the box and it can be obtained by opening it successfully. If the box explodes while opening it, the item is destroyed and you will take damage.
Brand - Special statuses can be obtained by using brands. It cannot be removed unless an Unbrand Brand is used.
Disk - Item that activates by stepping on it. It can be set anywhere. The effect varies depending on if it is placed face up or face down.
Idea Sephirah - The purified, crystallized form of one's true self. Information about the being prior to its crystallization can be gleaned if the crystal is formed from a living specimen
Baroque is set in a near future in which the world has been destroyed by a cataclysmic "Blaze" that has shifted the laws of nature and given rise to twisted "Meta-Beings." In order to stay sane, the population clings to delusions, called Baroques.
Crystallized selves, weaponized bones, torture devices and rotten flesh? Count us in.
Forget the talk of which secret characters will be making an appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, because surely this revelation is more significant: SEGA’s Alex Kidd will be appearing in the upcoming SEGA Superstar Tennis, his first videogaming outing for over 17 years.
The news comes plucked from the latest issue of Game Informer magazine and the beady eyes of Seganerds. The article writes:
In addition to featuring Sega’s top roster of talent like Sonic, Dr. Eggman, and Aiai, the game will include some of the company’s cooler, albeit bearly-forgotten characters. We’re happy to see Space Channel 5’s Ulala, Jet Set Radio’s Beat and Sega’s defunct mascot Alex Kidd from Alex Kidd in Miracle World back in action.
Alex Kidd, with his ape-like ears and bright red attire was SEGA’s primary mascot between 1986 and 1990, when the firm dropped him in favour of Sonic the Hedgehog.
SEGA Superstar Tennis will be released for the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS this March.
The rumors of Bully's Wii and Xbox 360 semester starting in March were pretty much on the money, with Rockstar confirming North America starts class on March 4 and the UK getting a delayed opening 'til March 7. As is evidenced by the Xbox 360 screenshot above, Rockstar isn't making the awkward teenagers of Bullworth Academy any prettier for their now-gen premiere. The game is pretty much a port of the PS2 version with some improvements -- hopefully the loading times will be one of them.
Bully: Scholarship Edition features eight new missions, four new classes and some other minor upgrades like achievements for the Xbox 360 and waggle-added gameplay for Wii. The tuition for this trip to Bullworth will be $50 on both systems. We'd say just pick Bully on the cheap for your PS2, but achievements or waggle will probably make another spin with Jimmy Hopkins on a new system worth it.
IGN's Predictions for 2008:
* Gears of War 2 Won't be Announced at GDC
Unlike what most press sites will tell you, we're going to say that the game will not make its debut at this year's GDC. To say that it will is a natural assumption. It's a big show and people are expecting Microsoft to offer up some exciting game properties to satiate the insatiable appetites of their audience. Gears of War 2 fits in with those plans, but we're saying that we won't see the game for a few more months yet.
* Microsoft Won't Release a Blu-ray Player
As it stands, the Xbox 360 has two HD solutions for movies; HD-DVD and Xbox Live Marketplace. Adding a third, especially before the HD-DVD format is totally done and the digital download service hasn't had a chance to truly flourish, is unnecessary this year. Cross your fingers if you want Blu-ray but don't hold your breath.
* Microsoft will Continue to Try to Break into Family Gaming
We predict that Microsoft will still make valiant efforts with family-oriented games continuing to be announced through many of the large game shows, but they'll continue to struggle with consumers. Whether it's because of poor marketing (Scene It?) or the games themselves are poorly made (Sneakers), Microsoft will continue to fail when it comes to pleasing an entire family of players.
* Not Every Big 2008 Title Releases in 2008
Here's a short list of a few of the games that have the sort of ambition or history to make us second guess their release stability: Alan Wake, Fable 2, Resident Evil 5, Fallout 3, Last Remnant, APB, Huxley and Age of Conan.
* We'll Stop Getting Three Red Lights E-Mails by December 2008
Well, we're stepping out on a ledge to say that the Three Red Lights epidemic will have quelled by December 2008. By that time all Xbox 360s bought before a certain date will have fulfilled their destiny and kicked the bucket. Millions of gamers will have gone through the pain of repairing their system. It will be a great day indeed.
Portable gaming is on the rise according to the 2007 NPD numbers issued this week. While the increase in handheld hardware and software didn't make quite as significant a leap in 2007 over the previous year as the console market, the spike was still significant.
Handheld systems, which includes the Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, and Game Boy Advance, bumped up about 7% in 2007 over 2006. Portable software sales showed a slightly higher spike, showing an 11% increase in sales last year compared to the same time frame in 2006.
In the system battle between the Nintendo DS and Sony's PSP, Nintendo clearly came out on top in 2007. Nintendo sold through more than 8.5 million DS units, more than a third of those systems (2.47 million) came from holiday sales in December. All told, the Nintendo DS has sold through more than 17.65 million system since the debut in November 2005.
PSP system sales were nothing to scoff at however; in 2007, Sony sold more than 3.82 million handheld systems, with just over one million sold in the month of December. Combine that with 2006 sales and Sony has put its system in the hands of more than 10.5 million gamers.
We're sure that many of our readers have experienced, or known someone who has experienced, the death of an Xbox 360. If not, you have now -- every member of the Joystiq staff has suffered the bitter taste of the Red Ring of Death or a ruined disc drive. In the midst of this veritable plague of hardware failures, you may find yourself asking questions of your spiritual leaders and community pillars -- questions like: "Why did my 360 stop working? Was the system rushed to release? How do they go about fixing them?"
All of these questions and more are apparently answered in a recent article by Jake Metcalf from 8Bit Joystick (no relation), who interviewed a nameless "inside source" at Microsoft who was involved in the testing and manufacturing of the console. According to the John Doe, the system was rushed to beat Sony to the market, had purposefully cheap heat sinks (which causes most of the RROD problems), and, most disturbingly, there's a chance that Microsoft may run out of systems with which to replace those that suffer hardware failures.
Jake has proven that he's well connected in the past, calling the Bungie-Microsoft split a week before it was announced thanks to another anonymous Microsoft tipster -- but some of the claims made in this particular article are inflammatory enough to merit higher-than-usual levels of skepticism.
Site 8bitjoystick, the same people who seem to have broken the news that Bungie was splitting from Microsoft, claim to have scored an exclusive tell-all interview with an Xbox 360 designer regarding the console's notorious stability. Most of the piece really just confirms that which was already suspected (reasons for the RRoDs, early Xboxes failed around 30% of the time, etc) but what caught our eye was the insider's estimated failure rates on new, smaller and cooler-chipped Xbox 360s seem to still be around 10%.
Q: How much more reliable are the current generation of Xbox 360 than the previous designs? Original Xenon, Zypher and Falcon. I've heard that the failure rates for the current design is sub 10%. Much much better, but still too high imoh. And those designs haven't seen much life yet, so no one knows if that failure rate will hold.
Maybe we are reading too much into the quote, but if the failure rates were closer to, say, 5%, we think that would have been mentioned. No matter what the reading, the Xbox 360's failure rates don't seem to contend with those of the Nintendo Wii or PlayStation 3.
We don't keep you updated with every Wii sold like our friends at Kotaku, but the NPD's 2007 sales numbers have been released, so we thought that the occasion merited a rundown to fuel your fanboy flame wars. Here are the total consoles sold in the United States during 2007:
Nintendo DS - 8,500,000
Wii - 6,290,000
Xbox 360 - 4,620,000
PlayStation 2 - 3,970,000
PSP - 3,820,000
PlayStation 3 - 2,560,000
So what about the total cumulative US sales numbers to date? Those numbers paint a slightly different picture:
PlayStation 2 - 41,120,000 Nintendo DS - 17,650,000 PSP - 10,470,000 Xbox 360 - 9,150,000 Wii - 7,380,000 PlayStation 3 - 3,250,000
Our reaction: it's so easy to underestimate the success of the PSP hardware (and it's currently selling like hotcakes in Japan).
As I've tried to educate my readers last year with my blog "Why HD movie downloads are a big lie", these so-called HD movies [from on-demand download services] use very low bit-rates compared to even standard definition DVDs let alone something like HD DVD or Blu-ray. Raw uncompressed 1080p video at 60 frames per second is about 3000 mbps so even HD DVD's 28 mbps needs to be compressed about 107 to 1 with the H.264 or VC-1 codec. By all reasonable standards this needs to be the minimum bit-rate for acceptable loss in quality on 1080p video.
Standard definition 480i DVD movies are typically 5 to 8 mbps (megabits per second) MPEG-2 whereas these so-called HD wannabes weigh in at a pathetic 1.5 to 4 mbps of 720p H.264. Apple's new HD service is capable of 4 mbps which simply isn't enough to be considered HD. XBOX360 downloads are 6.8 mbps 720p VC-1 so they're semi-decent borderline HD. Marketing will push the nicer sounding "720p" aspect of the video but they don't tell you it's way too compressed to offer good video fidelity. Blu-ray has a maximum bit-rate of 40 mbps while HD DVD offers a maximum of 28 mbps. Over the air broadcasts can be up to 19.38 mbps.
Mazer Mayhem is a new shooter from that bastion of shmupery, ABA Games. Besides the 360 degrees of mazering and the fun abstract graphics, Kenta Cho decided to write this game in Microsoft's XNA. Indeed, he has erected a new category on his main page titled "XNA" (right above an equally new "Flash" section: also worth your while) suggesting that there will be more where that came from. Gentlemen; ready your PCs and 360s!
Despite the fact it's already been sitting on the shelves for over a year on PS2, another ruckus is being kicked off over Rockstar's Bully, reignited thanks to the upcoming release of Xbox 360 and Wii versions of the game.
The Daily Telegraph describes the updated version, Scholarship Edition, as an "even more realistic" take on the 2006 original, which "encourages players to act out assaults on pupils and teachers." Beating a dead horse much?
The game's also sparked additional rows by changing its name from Canis Canem Edit back to Bully, which in itself is enough to get Daily Mail readers all riled up.
Niall Cowley, of the charity BeatBullying, said: "We're disappointed this game was created in the first place. Some mindless people thought this was a fun, interesting piece of software to create, but it undermines all the hard work that organisations like ours are seeking to do."
Cowley said that when the original was launched last year, Rockstar tried to persuade his group to back Canis by offering a donation. "It was the most distasteful thing in the world - the idea that we could be bought off like that," he said.
"We have the interests of the children of this country in our mind, not of the shareholders of this company."
PC World and Currys have already refused to stock the Xbox 360 and Wii updates, as they did with the PS2 original. The National Union of Teachers meanwhile has called for a wider ban on the game.
In a statement, a Rockstar spokesperson said: "It is a comedic romp. The last game sold fabulously in the UK and was critically acclaimed.
"It is not a game about playing a bully. It is about the trials and tribulations of a boy in his first year at school. He protects children against other characters. People have to be able to make their own decisions and to judge for themselves, with an open mind."
Is it really worth wasting our words over this anymore? Anyone who's actually played the game will realise it's a very tongue-in-cheek action game which mostly has you protecting people from bullies rather than picking on pip-squeaks at random.
It's one of Rockstar's better games in recent times, so we definitely recommend a look when it arrives in the UK this March.
Slick Entertainment has announced that puzzle-platform hybrid N+ will soon be available in an Xbox Live Arcade near you.
The game follows the adventures of a tiny ninja with a taste for collecting treasure. It will feature both competitive and co-op multiplayer modes.
According to the Slick website, the release was delayed due to certification. However, as the latest post reads, "N+ finally got through the certification phase, and will be on Xbox Live Arcade soon!"
If you can't wait even a little bit longer, you could always download the PC version - it's free and everything.
It's time to get all excited about that game you'll (probably) never play. A 'leaked' video of GoldenEye XBLA has once again put Rare's N64 gem under the spotlight.
The supposed XBLA footage shows Bond running through the Missile Silo level with the trusty KF7 Soviet.
The textures and gun look like they've been given a polish over, and if you watch through to the end you'll notice a B-button icon on the menu screen (to the lower right), and a text box that reads: "saving content, please don't not turn off your console."
They could be clues pointing to it being genuine, but as sceptics we would point out that everything in the video could be easily faked using a re-textured, modded version of the N64 ROM running on a PC emulator. By 'easily', we actually mean by homebrew ninjas.
The sad fact is that if there's a lot of hype over anything the gaming world, there are loners out there who'd love nothing more than putting time into making something like this. It must make them feel special to get on YouTube.
Klutsh released a small update of iPrep 101, a .NET application and collection of MSDOS scripts/applications for use in flashing a Samsung TS-H943A or BenQ DVD drives.
What's new/fixed:
* Fixes a typo in the DOS Samsung batch files.
* To use just replace the iPrep101.exe in the programs directory.
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games has returned to the number one position in the UK's All Formats Top 40 chart according to data released by Chart Track.
It is the third different title to reach the top spot so far this year in as many weeks, as Activision's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare dropped to second place.
Nintendo exclusives - either for Wii or DS - made up over half of the All Formats Top 10 charts for the first time since September 2007.
With the exception of The Simpsons Game, which moved up one place, every multi-format game in the top 10 lost sales. Sega's Ghost Squad and Capcom's Zack & Wiki debuted in the Top 40 charts at number 20 and 25, respectively.
For the week ended January 19, the top selling games in the UK were:
1. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
3. The Simpsons Game
4. Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training
5. More Brain Training from Dr. Kawashima
6. Assassin's Creed
7. FIFA 08
8. Super Mario Galaxy
9. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
10. Wii Play
Microsoft has announced the inaugural Xbox Live Arcade Awards.
The finalists in each category were selected by a panel of consumer and videogame industry journalists, but the winners will be determined by popular vote. Fans can cast their votes on the Xbox web site between January 22 and January 30.
Microsoft plans to announce the winners of the awards at the Game Developer Conference in February.
The award categories open for public voting include:
Best Overall Arcade Game
Puzzle Quest
Pac-Man CE
Carcassonne
Bomberman Live
Alien Hominid
Catan
Best Classic Game
Castlevania
Prince of Persia
Asteroids
Jet Pac Refuelled
Sensible World of Soccer
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Best Original Game
Pac-Man CE
Boom Boom Rocket
Aegis Wing
Undertow
Band of Bugs
Hexic 2
Best Family Friendly Game
Pac-Man CE
Carcassonne
Catan
Bomberman Live
Hexic 2
E4
Best Competitive Multiplayer Game
Puzzle Quest
Carcassonne
Bomberman Live
Super Puzzle Fighter II
Undertow
Catan
Fans will also be able to enter write-in candidates in the above categories to vote for a game not otherwise listed. Only XBLA games released in 2007 are eligible.
Other award categories not open to voting include:
Best selling game
Most played game
Highest rated game
Staff choice
DecalGirl Xbox 360 HD DVD Skin
Manufacturer: DecalGirl
Site: Buy from DecalGirl
Price: $14.99
Overview : Make your Xbox 360 HD-DVD player look as good as the movies it plays with a new full-color skin kit from DecalGirl. This three-piece kit covers the bland ivory panels with a vibrant DecalGirl skin design, digitally printed at art-quality resolution on the best materials money can buy. As with all of our full-color skins, the glossy finish won't fade, smudge or smear, and there's no residue left behind when you decide to change the skin.
Quality/Usability : With the HD DVD player add-on, there are no replacement cases for it for those looking to change the look or style. There have been people who have dyed the egg-white color casing of the HD DVD player to match their Xbox 360 Elite. Unfortunately, some people dont know how or are too afraid to mess it up. What is the next option? Skins. The DecalGirl Xbox 360 HD DVD Skin is made from vinyl. There are some out there on the market that gives you different designs but the quality are either limited to a certain amount, horrible or the quality is poorly made. Price is cheap but what you pay, is what you get.
With DecalGirl skins, you get the best of all worlds. Not only do you have a lot of selections to choose from but the quality is the best on the market and the price is very reasonable.
The Xbox 360 HD DVD Skin has three skins; top, bottom and side. All skins that you order from DecalGirl are all pre-cut to fit your desired device. Unlike the DecalGirl Nintendo DS Skin, you wont need a pen or sharp object to detach the skins from little pieces. Since the pieces are all huge skins, handling and applying the skins are very very easy.
To apply, I simply started by matching the corners of the skin to the corner of the HD DVD player for both the top and bottom. Once matched, I did it to the other 2 corners and left the fourth corner alone. There are a couple of ways to smooth out the skin. You can use a credit card or something similar, your fingers or a rag. I personally use my fingers first to set the skin in place and use a rag to flatten and smooth the skin out. I dont use a card because it has sharp edges/corners and if there is a small hard particle that got trapped underneath the skin, it can ruin the skin.
The side skin was a little different. It was cut and shaped differently since it curves. I had to line one side before before smoothing out the rest. If not lined up first, the skin would not fit perfectly on the player.
The only problem I had was the side skin (the smallest piece). The reason why was because it was actually bigger than the HD DVD itself. I had to take an x-acto knife to mark off where the excess skin is. Once marked off or kind of stenciled, I took a scissor and cut it off. Once cut off, the skin fit perfectly. DecalGirl might need to check their template. But its nothing major.
Conclusion : Overall, the DecalGirl Xbox 360 HD DVD Skin fits perfectly and looks great. Applying the skin was very easy and quick. As mentioned, the only minor problem was the slightly bigger side skin which was taken care of by simply cutting the excess skin off. Removing of the skin will not leave any sticky residue which is a big factor when applying anything to your devices. So if you dont like it or messed up, you can reapply it.
A while back I posted that I was looking for an RROD Xbox360; I actually sent it off to MEFAS to get digested for solder joint inspection on the GPU through a process called "dye and pry". In this process, the motherboard is flooded with red ink, and then the GPU is mechanically pried off the board. The red ink flows into any of the tiny cracks in the solder balls, and at least in theory, when you pry the GPU off the cracked regions will shear first so you will be left with visible red spots at the points of failure.
I was a bit puzzled by these results because you didn't see any "catastrophic" failure -- pools of red ink over a connection interface -- just partial cracking. Partial cracking isn't terribly uncommon, and many products work quite well despite such artifacts. However, after reading the [SeattlePI RRoD] article, if Microsoft shorted safety margins around many of the design parameters to get the product out on time, it makes sense that the summation of many partial failures could lead to a total system failure -- failures that have symptoms that vaguely cluster together but are difficult to point to any single root cause. Heisenbugs. Yuck
Games for Sony's PlayStation 3 have surged into the Spanish software sales chart top ten, finally ending a lengthy run at the top for various Nintendo platform games, according to sales data from Media Control GfK International for the week ending January 13.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 for Sony's next-gen console topped the chart, with Uncharted: Drake's Fortune coming in third and Assassin's Creed taking seventh - the most titles that the PS3 has had in the top ten for many months.
Titles for the DS and Wii were still well represented, with More Brain Training in second, Super Mario Galaxy in fifth, the original Brain Training in sixth and other titles in the last three positions.
Meanwhile in Germany Nintendo continued to dominate the software sales top ten, with More Brain Training leading the way, followed by Wii Play in second.
PC titles Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, World of Warcraft and its expansion The Burning Crusade took third, fourth and seventh places respectively, while Sony could only muster one game for its consoles - SingStar: Apres Ski in eighth place.
The full charts are as follows:
Spain
1. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS3)
2. More Brain Training with Dr Kawashima (DS)
3. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3)
4. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2)
5. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
6. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (DS)
7. Assassin's Creed (PS3)
8. New Super Mario Bros (DS)
9. Big Brain Academy (Wii)
10. Practice English (DS)
Germany
1. More Brain Training with Dr Kawashima (DS)
2. Wii Play (Wii)
3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC)
4. World of Warcraft (PC)
5. Mario Party DS (DS)
6. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
7. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (PC)
8. SingStar: Apres Ski (PS2)
9. Mario & Sonic at the Olympics (Wii)
10. Eye Training (DS)
With a full year's worth of data, we can now see how the three big consoles fared during all of 2007. The weekly console sales rates for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii are shown below.
December 2007 was the best month of hardware sales ever for the Xbox 360, up 11.5% from the record it set in December 2006. For the entire year of 2007, sales of the Xbox 360 were up 17.7% from 2006. At the beginning of 2007, the installed base for the Xbox 360 stood at 4.5 million systems on 14 months of sales. By the end of 2007, just 12 months later, the installed base had more than doubled to 9.15 million systems.
The keys to Microsoft's success were the August price drops and the launch of Halo 3 in late September. Together they effectively started Microsoft's holiday sales surge a month early, pushing monthly Xbox 360 sales up over Wii sales briefly.
The biggest win for the Xbox 360 in 2007 is quite possibly what did not happen: consumers did not shun the system after Microsoft acknowledged higher than acceptable hardware failure rates. The billion dollars that Microsoft set aside to cover the extended warranty program is costly, for sure, but as PR it has worked brilliantly. While many consumers know about the "red ring of death" failures, they bought more of the systems than ever before after Microsoft's mea culpa.
Microsoft has unveiled the latest update on how its next-generation console is faring in Australia. According to Microsoft, 306,000 Xbox 360s have now been sold in Australia, with more than two million games also sold since the console's launch in March, 2006.
It seems that as many as 160,000 Xbox 360s were sold in Australia in 2007 (and up to 80,000 in the final quarter of the year alone). By comparison, Sony's PlayStation 3 has sold 155,000 units down under since its release in March, 2007.
My source inside the Xbox team posted a response on my Seattle PI reader blog to some of the questions asked in comments.
"First, why the secrecy?
MS knows who I am. That's why I'm not concerned about self identifying to them in these postings with details only they would know, as some here have pointed out. The people who founded Xbox hw number 10. 1 left to go be the VP of manufacturing at Qualcomm, 1 left to go be the GM of engineering at Zune, 1 left after only 2 months in '99 due to conflicts with toddhol [Todd Holmdahl]. He works on Surface now. The rest still work on Xbox. I am the only one who left the company entirely.
I am not concerned about MS knowing who I am. They are worried about me revealing their problems. Not the other way around. Plus, I have contacted every single attorney who has filed a lawsuit against MS and offered to help. Some have accepted, and that work is in progress. We'll talk about that in another post. It's very interesting, I just don't want a bunch of fan boys trying to hack my home PC (that I use for work). Harass my kids, call my house, etc.
Second, why now?
Well, it's not just now. I've been reaching out since before the product went into manufacturing. I left before launch. But many employees continued to contact me about the problems with the product and its launch. I did my best to help them figure out how to mitigate the problems caused my bad management decisions, and test the boxes right. Sometimes my ideas worked, sometimes they didn't. I then started to contact reporters. Sometimes it went no where. Sometimes, it resulted in a spectacular thing, like the ambush interview with toddhol just before MS admitted guilt. But still, it happened too slowly for me. That's one reason I'm doing this now.
Last: My motivation.
I have always been in a position to stand up for the customer. MS stopped me from doing that. They need to pay the price now. If you guys won't get together and make that happen, you have no hope for the future with them. It's not my fight, but I am here fighting. You decide what you want to do. And then do it!
You know, sometimes you get stuff in your tip jar and it's just too far fetched. However, I can't ignore the possibility of this rumor being true. So for now I'll stick it under the rumors column and you can take whatever you want from it.
Basically, some unnamed person has tipped that Microsoft will be dropping the price of the Premium 360 another $49 on the same day that GTAIV gets released. This mwould be a smart move for Microsoft as we know millions upon millions of people love the GTA series.
The Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia (IEAA) today announced that sales for the videogame industry in Australia reached $1.3 billion dollars in 2007. That's a new record for the industry, and an increase of 43.6% on the $925 million sales figure in 2006. It's also much stronger growth than the 7% rise in sales the industry achieved from 2005 to 2006.
The Australian figures come hot on the heels of a bumper year in the United States as well. The U.S. market saw a similar upturn – a 43% increase from the year before, with total sales of US $17.94 billion.
So how many games were sold in 2007? According to independent market research group GfK Australia, Australian gamers purchased 15.4 million games, with more than one third of those titles – close to 6 million – sold in the final quarter of the year. It's also worth bearing in mind that these figures don't take into account games purchased via digital distribution, and with high profile releases such as The Orange Box on Steam, and the ever-growing market for new and classic titles through the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii online services, the true figure is even higher.
"Last year, Australians welcomed the arrival of the PS3 and marked a full year since the release of the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii," Ron Curry, the CEO of the IEAA, commented. "The launch of highly anticipated next generation gaming drove console sales to almost $500 million, nearly double the $270 million sold in 2006. Sales figures also indicate a resurging popularity in handheld consoles with 2.3 million units of software for the Nintendo DS system purchased last year compared to the 840,000 purchased in 2006."
"The gaming industry is no longer a niche market appealing only to traditional gamers," he continued. "With a wide variety of games available, interactive entertainment is attracting people from all ages and all walks of life. It is interesting to note that as more Australians embrace the most advanced gaming innovations and purchase the latest games, the average age of gamers has risen to 28 years old."
We asked each of the platform holders for comment on the figures. Nintendo Australia's PR coordinator Heather Murphy told us that "It's exciting that Australia's gaming industry nearly doubled its sales in 2007. From Nintendo's point of view, we're finding a broad range of people playing our games. We have games for everyone, which is evident from something as addictive as Brain Training and More Brain Training, to the popular Super Mario Galaxy. We've even seen seniors in nursing homes embracing Wii, particularly Wii Sports; and schools using the Nintendo DS as part of the curriculum.
"What Ron Curry said is spot on," Murphy continued, "the gaming industry is no longer a niche market; the market has broadened. Nintendo has such a wide variety of games available to cater for everyone - games for the family, core gamers, young females, even seniors."
Adrian Christie, the Communications Manager of Sony Computer Entertainment Australia, believes that the boom is a good thing for everyone, telling us: "As a member of the IEAA we're extremely pleased with the collective success of the interactive entertainment category in 2007. Everyone (all manufacturers and publishers) can claim a 'win' or 'best of' in one category or another. This means the industry is strong and healthy, a great platform to build strong game titles and innovative technology applications. Bring on '08."
Last but not least, Jeremy Hinton, the Xbox Product Manager, commented that: "In 2007 the interactive entertainment industry went from strength-to-strength with Australian consumers delivering a record-breaking year for the whole industry. The Xbox 360 platform remains at the heart of that success, generating more revenue across the board than both our next-gen competitors. It's this kind of momentum – spurred on by major releases such as GTA IV, Rock Band and Halo Wars – that will ensure another great year of gaming ahead for all of us in 2008."
Microsoft's chief blogger Major Nelson has confirmed that there will be no new releases on Xbox Live Arcade this week, not even a rubbish puzzle game with achievements you'll never play. Damn.
It had been reported that awesome shooter Rez HD and Ubisoft's less exciting Chessmaster Live would take this week's slot, though that's obviously turned out to be a load of rubbish. Maybe next week, eh?
Instead Xbox 360 owners are left to make do with Microsoft's offer of a free copy of Undertow, in compensation for the constant uptime issues with Xbox Live over Christmas. The deal's good until Sunday, so get your skates on.
In case you missed it, the company also rolled out its Xbox Live Arcade Awards yesterday, where gamers are invited to vote for their favourite download games (on Xbox 360, that is) so that Microsoft can crown them with some nice silverware. Get voting!
Microsoft is definitely and not maybe sure Oasis songs will be downloadable for Rock Band.
Xbox Live blogger Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb confirmed the news, listing the content now available on the US Marketplace.
It was rumoured Oasis tracks would make an appearance last week, after MS accidentally said so on Xbox.com and then tried to pretend nothing happened.
But now available are Don't Look Back in Anger, Live Forever and Wonderwall for 160 Points (GBP 1.36 / EUR 1.86) a pop. Or you can bundle them all together for 440 Points (GBP 3.74 / EUR 5.12).
Rock Band is still scheduled for release in Europe this quarter, although exactly when is still up in the air like someone on a trampoline.
According to the latest NPD group report, during the month of December Blu-ray players held 60 percent of the HD media player market -- despite the fact that HD DVD players were considerably cheaper. While that might've helped Warner in its decision to go Blu, the move has definitely had a dramatic effect on player sales since. According to the same study the week after the announcement, Blu-ray players were able to grab 93 percent of the market, which puts the year to date (short, we know) share for Blu-ray players at 70 percent. Granted, it's hard to put too much stock in just a week or two of data, but if this and the recent media sales numbers (85 percent) becomes a trend, maybe this won't be such a slow death for HD DVD after all.
Well, this is a surprise. Though it seemed like an unstoppable juggernaut of multiplayer dominance, it appears that Halo 3 has been ousted from the top of the Xbox Live activity chart by Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4. The rest of the top 5 for last week was rounded out by Guitar Hero III, Gears of War and Rock Band.
We have to admit it: We're pretty impressed. Though, now that we think about it, it kind of makes sense. We have been hearing a lot more chatter about friends crawling up the CoD 4 ranks than getting together Halo games as of late. It's not like you can make too much of it after one week, but it's definitely something we're keeping an eye on. What about you? Which one's still getting your gaming minutes?
Weekly Special: Clive Barker's Jericho for Xbox360™ at US$ 29.90 only - offer valid for 1 week only
From the publisher: A spectacular, creative, and unflinching realisation of a Clive Barker nightmare for next-gen console platforms and PC, Clive Barker's Jericho is a new supernatural horror concept with story by the master mythmaker, novelist and filmmaker Clive Barker.
Jericho deals with the mysterious reappearance of a lost city in a remote desert. When a form of evil that goes right back to the dawn of days resurfaces from there, a Special Forces squad, trained in both conventional warfare and the arcane arts, is sent in. Their mission: Hunt down and destroy the evil that lurks at the heart of the city before it destroys humanity.
Jericho is designed as an action horror title that will up the stakes in visuals and phantasmagorical special effects. Mingling the darkest elements of Barker's horror fiction and films with an ambitious, age-spanning story, aimed at mature gamers, fans of Clive Barker and horror fiction enthusiasts.
Clive Barker's Jericho for Xbox360™ is now available at discounted US$ 29.90 only. This is the region free English language Asia release version.
As usually, this weekly special is valid for exactly 1 week
Welcome to Paradise City! Make action your middle name, as you control what happens when and where in Burnout™ Paradise! Immerse yourself in the open roads of Paradise City from the downtown streets through the hectic freeways to the sweeping mountain roads; the world is waiting to be explored!
Slam, Shunt and Wreck opponents in cross-town race events, where YOU decide the fastest route to the finish line. Hit the jumps and find shortcuts, smash through barriers and get to the places that other racers can't reach to get that competitive edge!
Meet your friends online with the revolutionary EasyDrive system that smashes through the tedium of lobbies and servers and cuts straight to the chase. Burnout Paradise provides the ultimate driving playground for you and your friends to play online on the PLAYSTATION®3 and Xbox 360™.
That's right, the very first episode of the Sega Fan Club Podcast has launched! Bear with me since this is the first episode so its not perfect, but with your help and comments it could get better.
So leave your comments, and tell me what you think about the podcast, how it can be improved, etc. If you want to guest host a episode then contact me, and we can do it over Skype some time.
For Download Information, please follow the link below:
Note: If the quality seems bad Im sorry, my mic broke so I was forced to record on my Xbox 360 Headset, I realize you could hear me breathing sometimes, and its due to the weird Mic position on the headset, if people like the show, ill work on it
Update I have fixed the download link, the other server wasn't that great, this time im using sendspace. The speed is a bit better, so if it swayed you from downloading it before, try again.
Regular readers will be clued up on the fact that a playable 360 demo for Codemasters' Turning Point: Fall of Liberty went live this morning. It weighs in at just over 1GB and gives you a taste of the game's first moments.
You can read up on Fall of Liberty as much as you'd like here, or just hit the movie player to your right from some direct-feed footage.
Look out for the far too obvious (and worrying) glitch. Let's hope that gets ironed out before the final game...
Today was supposed to be the day that Microsoft released the free download of the Xbox Live Arcade original Undertow to make up for those days of system downtime and instability Xbox Live users suffered through over the holidays. Which makes today the perfect time for the system to come crashing to its knees again.
When many gamers tried to retrieve Undertow this morning, they got a message telling them the system "can't retrieve information from Xbox LIVE. Please try again later." The message also helpfully points out that this is a status code: 8015000a.
Cause when you're on the go and you just need to know what your total ranked kills are in Halo 3, you don't want to futz around Bungie.net on your gimped mobile browser. Nope, you can bust out your iPhone, load up www.ihalostats.com and lust over the number porn that Bungie's collecting from each and every match in a specially formatted web-app.
Microsoft Ireland Entertainment and Devices Division manager Orla Sheridan reportedly told Silicon Republic that the platform holder had "imminent" plans to 'boost the number of movies available for download on its Xbox Live Marketplace for Ireland from the present 30 or 40 films to up to 400 movies, in line with the US.'
However, in an email to Next-Gen, Microsoft UK said that talk of a major increase in the number of movies available over the European 360 Video Store any time soon was premature, although the spokesperson did add that a less dramatic wave of new content would be made available across Europe in the very near future.
Welcome to this week's Games & Toys update, our weekly summary featuring all new product arrivals from the last seven days.
After a relatively calm period of about three weeks, we've finally received the first 2008 gaming hits. EA's Burnout: Paradise (PlayStation3™ / Xbox360™) and an English/Chinese language edition of Mistwalker's RPG hit Lost Odyssey have been the most popular next gen console sellers.
Popular PlayStation2™ release has been the anime based girl advanture game Lucky * Star (also available as DX Pack).
Excellent handheld gaming refill has also arrived with Nintendo's Advance Wars: Days of Ruin and Konami's The Prince of Tennis: Driving Smash! Side King for Nintendo DS™ as well as Winning Eleven Ubiquitous Evolution 2008 (Japanese / Asia) and Yggdra Union for PSP™.
It's also been a fantastic week for toy statues collectors with arrival of First4Figures' long-awaited Metroid Prime Samus - Varia Suit Statue and The Legend of Zelda - Skull Kid Collectible Statue as well as Gaya's Virtual Legends Resident Evil - The Umbrella Chronicles Pre-Painted 1/6 Scale Statue: Tyrant.
Last but not least some interesting gaming soundtracks have arrived this week, including Lost Odyssey Original Soundtrack, No More Heros Original Soundtrack and Naruto Shippuuden: Narutimate Accel Best Sound [CD+DVD Limited Release].
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™:
Burnout: Paradise ASIA US$ 44.90
Lost Odyssey (English language Version) ASIA US$ 49.90
PlayStation3™:
Burnout: Paradise ASIA US$ 49.90
Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights JPN US$ 64.90
Shin Sangoku Musou 5 KOR US$ 79.90
Nintendo Wii™:
CSI: Hard Evidence US US$ 44.90
Furu Furu Park US US$ 24.90
Indianapolis 500 Legends US US$ 44.90
Nitrobike US US$ 49.90
PlayStation2™:
Lucky * Star JPN US$ 64.90
Lucky * Star [DX Pack] JPN US$ 89.90
TOCA Race Driver 3: Ultimate Racing Simulator JPN US$ 64.90
Nintendo DS™:
Advance Wars: Days of Ruin US US$ 39.90
Daikoukai Jidai IV: Rota Nova (Koei the Best) JPN US$ 29.90
Hijouguchi: Exit DS JPN US$ 48.90
Kawaii Koneko DS JPN US$ 48.90
Mahjong Taikai (Koei the Best) JPN US$ 28.90
Miami Nights: Singles in the City US US$ 34.90
SuperLite 2500 Brickdown JPN US$ 25.90
SuperLite 2500 Joshikousei Nigeru! Shinrei Puzzle Gakuen JPN US$ 25.90
Takahashi Shoten Kanshuu: Saihinshutsu! SPI Perfect Mondaishuu JPN US$ 29.90
The Prince of Tennis: Driving Smash! Side King JPN US$ 48.90
The Prince of Tennis: Driving Smash! Side King [Konamistyle Part.12 Special Edition] JPN US$ 139.90
The Sims 2: Castaway JPN US$ 48.90
Sony PSP™:
Clear Case Portable (Crystal) JPN US$ 9.90
Clear Case Portable (Graphite) JPN US$ 9.90
Lumines II (The Best Collection) JPN US$ 29.90
Winning Eleven Ubiquitous Evolution 2008 ASIA US$ 46.90
Winning Eleven Ubiquitous Evolution 2008 JPN US$ 48.90
Yggdra Union JPN US$ 48.90
Toys & More:
Amaha Collection No.3 1/6 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Wild Cat Anna (Limited Edition) JPN N/A
Another Days To Heart 2 1/8 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Yamada Michiru JPN US$ 39.90
Another Days To Heart 2 1/8 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Yuzuhara Konomi (Maid Version) JPN US$ 44.90
Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 1/6 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Lei Fang on the beach JPN US$ 64.90
Doubutu Nechan Series Tandem Twin Animal Girl 1/6 Scale Pre-Pianted PVC Figure: Panther MOMO JPN US$ 69.90
Dr. Slump Collection Pre-Painted PVC Mini Figure: Gacchan JPN US$ 6.90
El Cazador Scale 1/8 Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Nadie JPN N/A
Fate/Zero 1/8 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure: Emiya Kiritsugu JPN US$ 59.90
Final Fantasy VIII Play Arts Pre-Painted Action Figure: Squall Leonhart JPN US$ 38.90
Fist of the North Star 200 X 1/8 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Kenshiro and Kokuoh JPN US$ 189.90
Guilty Gear XX 1/7 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: I-No JPN N/A
Gun x Sword 1/8 Scale Pre-Painted Figure: Wendy Garret (Removable Cloth Vers.) JPN US$ 54.99
Jingai Makyo Chaos Gate Non Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Makimoto Misae Fantastica Version JPN US$ 49.90
Metroid Prime Samus - Varia Suit Statue US$ 79.90
Naruto Shippuuden Phone Strap Gashapon Vol.2 JPN US$ 2.49
Nohohon Dancing (Green) US$ 9.90
Nohohon Dancing (Orange) US$ 9.90
Nohohon Dancing (Pink) US$ 9.90
Nohohon Dancing (Yellow) US$ 9.90
Original Generation Super Robot Taisen: Super Robot Wars 1/144 Scale Pre-Painted Model Kit: Real Personal Trooper R-1 (Re-Run) JPN US$ 34.90
Original Generation Super Robot Wars Non Scale Pre-Painted Model Kit: DGG-XAM1 Dygenguar (Re-Run) JPN US$ 34.90
The Legend of Zelda - Skull Kid Collectible Statue US$ 79.90
Togainu's Blood - PS2 Soft Sale commemoration Non Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Shiki JPN US$ 29.90
Treasure Figure Collection Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu 1/10 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure Set: Tsuruya-san & Kyon's sister JPN US$ 49.90
Ultimate Transformers Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Bumblebee JPN N/A
Virtual Legends Resident Evil - The Umbrella Chronicles Pre-Painted 1/6 Scale Statue: Tyrant Europe US$ 199.90
WagaMama Capriccio 1/8 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Melissa Seraphy JPN N/A
Zero no Tsukaima 1/8 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Louise (Bustier Version) JPN N/A
Video Game related Soundtracks:
Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon: The Labyrinth Of Lost Time Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 19.90
Forest of Glass JPN US$ 29.90
Jikkyo Powerful Pro Yakyu Power Pro Ongakukan 4 JPN US$ 33.90
L.II remixes JPN US$ 19.90
Lost Odyssey Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 34.90
Minna No Golf Portable 1 & 2 Perfect Sound Collection JPN US$ 31.90
Naruto Radio Shippu Jinrai 2 JPN US$ 24.90
Naruto Shippuuden: Narutimate Accel Best Sound [CD+DVD Limited Edition] JPN US$ 34.90
Neo Romance Stage Haruka naru Toki No Naka De Maihitoyo Stage Music Shu JPN US$ 28.90
Neo Romance Stage Harukanaru Toki No Nakade Maihitoyo Stage Music Shu JPN US$ 28.90
No More Heros Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 34.90
Sekai Ga Yume Miru Yume No Naka (Suzumiya Haruhi No Yakusoku Outro Theme) JPN US$ 19.90
Shining Wind Drama CD Vol.2 JPN US$ 27.90
Super Eurobeat Presents Initial D Special Stage Non-Stop Mega Mix JPN US$ 29.90
True Blue: The Best of Sonic the Hedgehog JPN US$ 23.90
Here is a preview of what is expected to be hot next week. Please note that due to a huge supply cut of Dairantou Smash Brothers X / Super Smash Bros. Brawl, we are only expecting to fill around 10-20% of all preorders coming week. We will post an update and notify all customers that have preordered this title on its release date.
PlayStation3™:
Devil May Cry 4 JPN US$ 72.90
Devil May Cry 4 ASIA US$ 59.90
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness 3 ASIA US$ 59.90
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness 3 JPN US$ 64.90
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness 3 [Limited Edition] ASIA US$ 79.90
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness 3 [Limited Edition] JPN US$ 89.90
Xbox360™:
Devil May Cry 4 JPN US$ 72.90
Nintendo Wii™:
Dairantou Smash Brothers X / Super Smash Bros. Brawl (shipping date unconfirmed) JPN US$ 64.90
Family Ski JPN US$ 64.90
PlayStation2™:
Suzumiya Haruhi no Tomadoi JPN US$ 64.90
Suzumiya Haruhi no Tomadoi [Limited Edition] JPN N/A
Tales of Destiny Director's Cut JPN US$ 59.90
Tales of Destiny Director's Cut ASIA US$ 54.90
Tales of Destiny Director's Cut [Premium Box] ASIA N/A
Tales of Destiny Director's Cut [Premium Box] JPN N/A
Xyanide JPN US$ 59.90
As part of its recently-announced effort to trim the fat from its production pipeline, THQ has announced that it will cancel some upcoming games, kill two of its franchises and close a studio.
As part of an updated financial outlook the company released today, THQ said it has canceled the PlayStation 3 version of Frontlines: Fuel of War and the PlayStation 2 version of Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed. The PC and Xbox 360 versions of the former game and the PlayStation Portable version of the latter appear to still be alive.
Despite recording a killer fiscal third quarter, fueled by hot sales of SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 and MX vs. ATV Untamed, THQ said games like Ratatouille, Conan, Stuntman: Ignition underperformed and two unannounced games were costing more than expected.
The two unannounced games, under development for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, were scheduled for release in 2010. THQ has pulled the plug on at least one of those titles and closed the studio behind it - Concrete Games.
In today's financial report, THQ also said it no longer plans to "pursue its Juiced and Stuntman" franchises. The company did not say if it plans to sell off the intellectual properties or hold them for future use.
"In October, we announced certain product quality initiatives, including personnel and structural changes in product development and a more rigorous internal and external product evaluation and feedback process," said Brian Farrell, president and CEO of THQ. "Consistent with these initiatives, we have taken actions to strengthen our pipeline and position ourselves to compete aggressively with compelling, high quality games."
Electronic Arts has written a letter to Fox News Channel asking the media company to correct alleged inaccuracies that appeared during a recent segment on Bioware's Mass Effect game.
The letter, obtained by Kotaku, was written by Jeff Brown, EA's VP of communications.
"As the parent company of BioWare, the studio which created the game, EA would like you to set the record straight on a number of errors and misstatements which incorrectly characterise the story and character interactions in Mass Effect," Brown wrote.
The headline for Fox's televised story indicated that Mass Effect showed full digital nudity, with a reporter indicating that the game allowed players to engage in graphic sex and was being marketed to kids and teenagers.
EA's letter described the game's content - comparing the sexual content to that of network television - and made it clear that the game was rated Mature.
Mass Effect was initially banned in Singapore due to the inclusion of a sex scene between a human woman and a female alien, but that ban was later overturned and the game was released under an M18 rating.
The scene gained media attention and attracted some criticism, leading up to Monday's segment on Fox News television.
"As videogames continue to take audiences away from television, we expect to see more TV news stories warning parents about the corrupting influence of interactive entertainment," Brown's letter continued.
"But this represents a new level of recklessness."
Fox has not yet responded to the letter at the time of writing.
A new demo for Turning Point: Fall of Liberty is now available for download from Xbox Live Marketplace, weighing in at 1.2GB.
Turning Point is a first-person shooter set in an alternate 1950s New York. At the start of the game, the Third Reich launches an attack on the US by blowing up the Statue of Liberty.
You play as construction worker Dan Carson and your first mission is to not die when the skyscraper you're working on gets hit. Then there are incoming paratroopers to contend with and the task of saving the rest of New York from Nazi invasion like that episode of Seinfeld with the soup.
Turning Point: Fall of Liberty is out on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 this "quarter". For a full preview, pics and videos, visit the gamepage.
Yesterday our jaws were left stuck to the floor after watching the Far Cry 2 tech demo showing off the incredible capabilities of the engine. Today, we've been granted five new screens.
Better-looking than Crysis? Take a look at those shots and decide for yourself.
It also begs the question of course, what kind of PC hardware will you require to get the game running at that level of detail? But then it is coming to Xbox 360 and PS3 too, which Ubisoft confirmed at the start of the year.
Should you have missed yesterday's tech demo trailer, you can find that here. You'd be mad to miss it.
Ubisoft's latest financials reveal that Prince of Persia is to return during the company's 2008-2009 financial year, which begins in April.
Apart from Prince of Persia Classic on Xbox Live Arcade, we haven't seen much of the Prince since he went out on last-gen consoles with a healthy bang in the shape of The Two Thrones.
However, the new game has evidently been in development for some time, having featured in the leaked September 2006 documents some bright spark at Ubisoft uploaded to a public FTP. Back then, the concept artwork and other files were labelled "POP0", so perhaps it's a prequel.
Either way, we look forward to his return - if Ubisoft can marry the evolved platforming of Assassin's Creed to the brilliant characters and puzzles of the original revamp, Sands of Time, then it will be a game to remember.
No word on platforms of release date specifics, but we'll let you know when we do.
Ubisoft's latest financials also echo reports that new Anno and Shaun White snowboarding games are in development somewhere in the publisher's globe-spanning network of studios.
It looks like Pandemic's tardy explosion-em-up Mercenaries 2 has been delayed yet again, this time to the end of the year in August 2008.
That of course, is if we can believe the word of internet retailers Amazon and Game Stop, which have both coincidently opted for an August 25 ship date for Pandemic's free-roaming action-fest.
The sequel, which is in development for Xbox 360, PS3, PS2 and PC, was delayed before from its Christmas 2007 release date into 2008.
Now that it's probably been pushed back again, we're really hoping it manages to impress more than the initial hands-on we had last year.
We've left a message with EA's PR department and hopefully they'll be able to shed some light. Otherwise, the wait is on. Again...
I have a quick little note about something that very few outside of Redmond knew about and that is Xbox 360 Project "Helium". It was a concept to combine a high-end gaming Windows PC with a Xbox 360 motherboard as a daughterboard. It never was even remotely implemented and moved off the drawing boards but the idea was for a third party manufacturer to license and include a daughter board made by Microsoft that would be housed in a desktop PC to add an Xbox 360 functionality to the PC. Instead they went with Games For Windows LIVE.
The concept was not unlike a videogame PC hybrid like the Amstrad Mega PC and IBM Sega Teradrive PC that combined a 16-bit Sega Genesis/Megadrive with a PC or the Creative 3DO Blaster card that added 3DO functionality to a PC. Crazier ideas for game system hybrids have been made such as the MegaDrive Aiwa CSD-G1M combination Sega MegaDrive CD and portable boombox.
please, sign this petition, and lets get as many votes as we can so we can hopefully change Warner's mind to return to being format neutral, or go HD-DVD exclusive. This would also show the remaining HD-DVD exclusive studios, Universal & Paramount, that HD-DVD still has supporters, thus they shouldn't switch to Blu-Ray. We have a chance to save a superior format from collapsing under the weight of the greedy Sony corporation and its inferior Blu-Ray format, let's do it!
A piece at the MTV Multiplayer blog is exploring the issue of kids and gaming, wondering aloud how old is 'old enough'. A recent CES talk indicated that you should wait until at least seven to introduce your children to Mario, and we've talked in the past about the educational role games can have. MTV's Tracey John spoke to a pair of mothers who offered their own opinions on this topic:
"When I asked Alisa why she thought that games weren't imaginative and explained that many games have challenging, puzzle-solving elements, she conceded a little but remained skeptical. 'Honestly, I haven't really explored video games thoroughly, and I'm sure there are video games that fit more the bill of something that I'd be interested in, but I'm kind of hard-pressed to find a game that's like reading a book or something like that. I understand the kids like it, so I allow them to do it; it's monitored but it's not my favorite thing for them to be doing.'"
What's the right age for a kid to start playing games? Do you see games as more or less acceptable than traditional kid pastimes like TV or reading? Does it matter if the parents are gaming-savvy?
Germany's Gaya Entertainment brings Resident Evil to life on your shelf.
Coming with a series of 6 fabulous Resident Evil High End Collectible Statues 1/6 scale, licensed by Capcom and each of them limited to only 1500 pcs, 2008 will be a festival for all Resident Evil fans.
The first character to be released will be the powerful Tyrant, followed by Chris Redfield, the beautiful Jill Valentine, the terrifying "G" William Birkin, the mysterious Albert Wesker and last but not least the indestructible Nemesis!
Each piece comes in an exclusive box-packaging, hand-numbered and with incredible details.
features
Innovative RPG gameplay: Massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) elements are blended into the game's traditional role-playing game system, enabling players to make strategic decisions for a more immersive and deep gameplay experience.
Engaging and unparalleled emotional story: With story sequences penned by award-winning Japanese novelist Kiyoshi Shigematsu in cooperation with producer Hironobu Sakaguchi,Lost Odyssey sets a new benchmark for the RPG genre with a combination of true-to-life cinematics and an intriguing story of an immortal man.
Massive scope: The massively scoped worlds, memorable characters and epic storyline play as an intense and unsettling blockbuster action film. Heading up the artistic demands of the title is famed Japanese comic artist Takehiko Inoue.
Realistic next-generation graphics: Powered by Unreal Engine 3 technology, Lost Odyssey boasts stunning visual fidelity and rendering quality. The technology pushes high-definition visual designs to a higher level and brings out the smallest details in the largest battles.
description
Lost Odyssey™ is the story of Kaim, an immortal character who has lived more than 1,000 years. He doesn't remember his past, and he doesn't know where his future lies. Throughout Kaim's journey, a handful of characters will join him on an odyssey to discover their intricate past and destiny, leading players through a dramatic story of massive scale. Lost Odyssey features breathtaking visuals and an epic adventure made possible only by the power of Xbox 360™.
As you may have seen, there are attempts being made to portray NPD’s weekly sales tracking figures for next generation DVD as a trend. We want to remind you and make clear that it is not accurate to make long term assumptions based on one week of sales - a cautionary point that NPD has made as well. The facts are that during the week that is being singled out, both Blu-ray disc players and software were being given away for free with the purchase of 1080p TVs. It is also important to note that the instant rebate promotions that had previously netted Toshiba’s players’ MSRP’s to $199 and $249 had actually ended on Jan. 5th - causing an increase in HD DVD’s MSRP back to $299 and $399 during that same week. Since Toshiba’s retail price move on Jan. 13th to $149 / $199 - Toshiba is seeing very positive sales trends at retail. This reinforces the fact that price is a significant driver of sales
Console hardware sales in Japan seem to have reverted to normal now, just with some levels lower from the last reading. Figures are shown below:
Nintendo DS Lite: 88,575
Nintendo Wii: 81,638
Playstation Portable: 79,923
Playstation 3 : 38,117
Playstation 2: 13,539
Xbox 360: 4,552
All console experience a drop by roughly 400 and 11,000 except the PS3 and Xbox 360, rising by about 800 and 100 respectively. Wii manages to regain second place and puch back the PSP the 3rd as usual.
Rockstar's battle to get Manhunt 2 on to the shelves of UK stores took another twist yesterday as the High Court ruled against the Video Appeals Committee, who had previously overturned the British Board of Film Classification's decision to prevent the game from going on sale.
Mr Justice Mitting told the committee that it must reconsider its decision, reached by a narrow majority, because it had committed a "clear error of law" in relating the game to the question of harm.
According to a report in The Metro the BBFC had argued that the VAC's original decision had threatened to undermine its position as a content watchdog, not just for videogames but for other entertainment genres, such as film.
The result means that publisher Rockstar, who had attempted to submit a new edition based on the cuts made for the now-passed and M-rated US edition of the game, is still unable to sell the game in the UK.
Lost Odyssey will be out in Europe on 29th February, although Microsoft hasn't jumped up and down about it in its usual public manner.
The date has been known about for a while now, but because we give presents to friends and help old people across roads we thought that you might like to know. Concrete. Set in stone. That sort of thing.
Lost Odyssey is the next enormous role-playing project from Japanese developer Mistwalker, lead by Final Fantasy mastermind Hironobu Sakaguchi.
This, along with Blue Dragon (also developed by Mistwalker), is part of The Big Microsoft Idea to break into the Japanese market. It doesn't seem to have helped a great deal.
Lost Odyssey also scored well in Japanese magazine Famitsu upon release last November, totalling 34/40 in the 360 publication and 36/40 in the full edition - just one point shy of Blue Dragon.
But then we gave Blue Dragon 6/10 because it was lengthy, monotonous, childish and repetitive. Stuck in the past, if you like. Still, it spurred me to play it for 55 hours and only get 120 Gamerpoints for it. I am the real winner.
It also prompted Sakaguchi (or MS prompted Sakaguchi) do alter some bits and pieces this time around, like focusing on better voice acting for the west and appealing to a more mature audience.
Journey over to our Lost Odyssey gamepage to find out more.
Sega's Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games was the top-selling game in Australia for the week ended January 20 according to sales data released by GfK Australia.
Four Nintendo DS games also made the Top Ten, allowing titles for Nintendo platforms to dominate half of the chart. Four of the Top Ten titles were for the PlayStation platforms.
The only Xbox 360 game to make the Top Ten - Activision's Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat - dropped to the number seven spot. Call of Duty 4 was also the best-selling PC game for the week.
The Top Ten best-selling titles were as follows:
1. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii)
2. The Simpsons Game (DS)
3. SingStar R&B (PS2)
4. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
5. More Brain Training from Dr. Kawashima: How Old Is Your Brain? (DS)
6. SingStar Pop Hits (PS2)
7. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (360)
8. Sight Training (DS)
9. Assassin's Creed (PS3)
10. SingStar Rocks Ballads (PS2)
Gamers in western Kentucky have one less reason to smile this morning with news that the area's annual gaming tournament, dubbed Gameathon, is likely in jeopardy of taking place this year at all. The reason? According to a report by the Bowling Green Daily News, the event's chief sponsor, the US Army, has opted out of supporting the gaming tournament, stating that the military branch has "other priorities this year" beyond support for game tournys.
Or really? That doesn't seem to keep the Army from wanting to host this April's Halo 3 tournament over Xbox Live, nor did it stop it from throwing the branch's considerable weight (not to mention an estimated $2 million) behind the Global Gaming League last year. The Amry had sponsored the event in 2005 and 2007, and was expected to contribute $5,000 [£2,524] this year, a burden that we guess was simply too terrible to bear.
The Army's decision strikes us as doubly odd considering that the event is something of a showpiece for America's Army, with the title sharing space with Halo, PGR, and Madden in the Gameathon's tournament. For now the event sponsors have begun to look elsewhere for sponsorship, while a post on the event's website appears to hold out hope that the local recruiting office will eventually be swayed to once again participate in the competition. We've strapped on our mental projection helmets, and are sending good vibes their way.
Microsoft has revealed its latest financial results and bugger us, its Entertainment & Devices Division (that's Zune and Xbox) has actually made a profit! Again!
The company reports that it's managed to rake in $357 million [£180.36m] in operating income for the final quarter of the year.
Last quarter it reported income of $165 million - [£83.33m] so that's too quarters in a row the E&DD devision has managed to make money. Impressive if you remember the days when it through billions at the original Xbox with nothing in return.
In its last quarter the company pointed to strong sales of Halo 3, the Xbox 360 and video game accessories as revenue drivers. The latest profits can probably be put down to erm, exactly the same things (plus Christmas, of course).
This puts Microsoft's E&DD team up over a half-billion for fiscal year 2008. After years of promising then, the Xbox 360 business could finally be in the black. What does this mean for Microsoft's game strategy in 2008? We'll let you know when we see some...
The ongoing Mass Effect 'sex' saga which kicked off following Fox News Channel's inaccurate drubbing of the RPG has taken a fresh turn.
Now, Fox News Channel wants to invite EA to a live TV debate to talk things over.
It follows the publication of a letter penned by Jeff Brown, EA's vice president of communications, which was sent to Fox.
In the letter, he called out the news channel and asked for an apology over its "reckless" and error-heavy coverage of Mass Effect.
In the error-laden news segment in question, the headline indicated that the game included "full digital nudity and sex", while a voiceover claimed that players could engage in "graphic sex".
"Fox News Channel has extended several invitations to EA through a company representative to appear on Live Desk With Martha MacCallum to discuss Mass Effect and the segment which aired on Monday. We have received no response", Fox News has now said in a statement.
Rockstar has questioned the High Court of Justice's decision to send Manhunt 2 back for re-evaluation.
The publisher said it was unable to comprehend spending more public money on censoring a game that was well within the rules of an adult rating.
"We believe the Video Appeals Committee decision was correct and do not understand the court's decision to expend further public resources to censor a game that contains content well within the bounds established by the British Board of Film Classification's18-plus ratings certification," Rockstar said in a statement.
The VAC decision was overturned by Mr Justice Mitting who said an "error of law" had been made.
This error was related to the definition of what constitutes harm. Mitting said VAC had misinterpreted it as actual harm, rather than, as he put it, a wider sense of potential harm.
Manhunt 2 will now be re-evaluated by the Video Appeals Committee under new guidelines.
If Rockstar receives a negative response that would effectively end the appeals process, as it is unlikely the House of Lords would want to know.
Earlier in the month Ascaron revealed a delay to September for its RPG sequel Sacred 2, but in the meantime here's a bunch of new screenshots to look at.
Out on PC and Xbox 360, Sacred 2's a Diablo fan's cup of tea. There are goblins, a crap-load of items and a massive, seamless world that Ascaron says will take you more than six hours to run across. Crikey.
Toward the end of last year the company granted us a glimpse of the hack 'n' slash game, so you can read all about it here.
Microsoft sold fewer Xbox 360 video game consoles during the lucrative holiday shopping season than it did the previous year -- despite September's launch of the blockbuster Xbox 360 title Halo 3.
Microsoft shipped 4.3 million Xbox 360 systems in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with 4.4 million systems during the same period in 2006-- a decline of 2.3%.
Halo 3 -- a first-person shooter that runs exclusively on the Xbox 360 -- debuted in late September, just before the start of Microsoft's crucial second fiscal quarter. The quarter covers sales made during the key Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping periods.
Microsoft® today announced the launch of a unique European competition looking for fans across the region to help create and show the unseen adventures of Master Chief. Whether its Master Chief's"Meet the Parents", a Spartan high school reunion, or even break dancing to MC Hammer, the"HALO: RECUT" contest is encouraging gamers and filmmakers alike to be as creative as possible, with the lucky winner scooping a once-in-a-lifetime master-class trip to Los Angeles.
Microsoft is looking for innovative movie makers to construct their own original video of Master Chief, which sees him taken away from the Halo universe and remixed into different scenarios. Whether created using a traditional video camera, gaming footage, old school animation or the latest video editing software, the point is just to be creative.
To enter the competition participants simply have to visit the following site www.xbox.com/en-GB/halorecut and upload their video from 31st January until 21st March 2008. The entries will then be judged by a panel of experts from the gaming industry to find the most creative concepts. One winner from each country will win themselves an Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and a copy of Halo 3. Terms and conditions apply, please visit www.xbox.com/en-GB/halorecut for details.
Each country's winning video will then be put through to the European final which will be judged by the creators of the game, Bungie Studios. The overall European winner will win a trip to Los Angeles to study for one month at the New York Film Academy, where they will learn all they need to know about making movies. The prize includes return transatlantic flights, accommodation, car rental and $2,000 spending money.
Brian Jarrard, Bungie Studios added:"This competition is a great way to showcase the creativity and passion that drives the Halo fan community. We can't wait to see how people infuse their own style and personality into Master Chief and deliver a whole new take on the Halo phenomenon. May the best Spartan win!"
The Xbox 360 will continue to outpace the Wii in terms of software attach rate, GameStop management told Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey.
"Management expects the Wii software attach rate (roughly 5 according to NPD) should continue to be at a discount to the 360 (8.8 attach according to NPD)," Hickey wrote in a Thursday investor note. Update: A Microsoft earnings conference call Thursday said the attach rate was seven for Xbox 360.
He added that the PS3's 2007 attach rate is about equal to Wii's.
hardware and game sales up $115 million over the year prior, as the company sees overall sales of $16.37 billion and operating profits of $6.48 billion.
The overall results are a 30 percent rise in sales and 87 percent rise in operating profits. The company's entire Entertainment and Devices Division, which houses Xbox 360 and PC gaming as well as Zune and set-top devices, saw a 3 percent rise in revenue to $3.06 billion, and $357 million in operating profit, up from losses of $302 million the year prior.
Microsoft notes that it shipped 4.3 million and 6.1 million Xbox 360 consoles in its second quarter and first half, respective, compared to 4.4 million and 5.4 million the year prior. It adds that life to date sales of Xbox 360 has reached 17.7 million units, up 70 percent from the prior year.
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