features
Get orders from HQ, go on patrol, spot the enemy, and set up a devastating ambush. For the first time, finding the enemy before they find you is part of the challenge
As the squad leader, interact with and get to know your brothers
Players can use or command combined arms teams—machine gun crews create intense fire, bazooka crews destroy buildings and tanks
Hit the dirt and get prone, rip grenades from your chest, and hurl them at your enemies
Team up with your friends online or in your living room and find out if you have what it takes to become fire-team leaders
description
In Brothers in Arms Hell’s Highway you join Matt Baker, Joe Hartsock and the rest of the 101st Airborne Division in Operation Market Garden as they fight to open the infamous Hell’s Highway in a daring bid for a quick end to the war. The classic authentic, squad-based combat series explodes on next-generation hardware, offering unprecedented graphics and features.
features
Conquer the toughest terrain Mother Nature has to offer in the definitive off-road endurance challenge
Overpower hill-climb, circuit, and rally races on the path to Baja supremacy
Harness the horsepower of over 40 elite Trophy Trucks, 4x4’s and Buggies across eight varied vehicle classes
Stunning vistas, sheer cliffs, and towering mountains fill over 100 square miles of drive-to-horizon landscape
Suspension, torque and horsepo wer are perfectly balanced to create the ultimate edge-of-control racing experience
Fine-tune the roar of your off-road machine with over 200 authentic vehicle parts
Power past the competition in 4-player split screen and 8-player online racing
description
From the core founding members of the MX vs. ATV franchise comes the ultimate off-road racing experience: BAJA™. Conquer the toughest terrain Mother Nature has to offer and build the ultimate off-road vehicle in the most realistic, edge-of-control racing game ever created. Combining the best elements of the real-world sport with the right balance of arcade fun, BAJA transports players to the epic open worlds and unforgiving terrain found at the pinnacle of off-road racing. Stunning visuals, vertical environments, and unpredictable terrain are crossed in over 100 square miles of drive-to-horizon landscape. Master hill-climb, circuit, and rally races to earn career sponsorships on the path to off-road supremacy. Harness the horsepower of elite Trophy Trucks, 4x4’s and Buggies to finally compete in the definitive off-road endurance challenge, the Baja
Today Game Developer magazine announced Nintendo has been selected as the top videogame publisher for the second year in a row. The top 20 list is determined by a survey of over 300 game industry professionals and takes into account factors like revenue, average review scores, and number of releases. Electronic Arts (EA) long held the number one spot until Nintendo unseated the company last year, although EA is still at number 2.
"Nintendo's second chart-topping appearance in a row underscores the extraordinary popularity of the firm's first-party Wii and DS franchises – we congratulate them on their achievement," said Simon Carless, director, Game Developer Research.
Rounding out the top 5 are Activision in the third spot for the third year running, Ubisoft holding onto fourth, and Sony Computer Entertainment in fifth. Sony was able to leap into the top 5 by releasing more games, bettering its review scores, and preserving positive relationships with those surveyed.
Codemasters (Grid, Overlord) reappeared on the list at number 18 after a two-year leave, bumping last year's new addition, Atlus, off entirely.
New Xbox 360 models have been spotted using upgraded components, said to make the infamous Red Ring of Death a thing of the past.
The newest 360s are fitted with new 'Jasper' motherboards, says a report on Joey Gadget, as well as a new and improved graphics chip.
The upgraded components are smaller and emit less heat, according to the techies, which in turn should mean no more red lights on your 360, and less postman visits to send your console off to Xbox repairs.
To be honest, we've not experienced or heard of anywhere near as many RRoD incidents over the last year anyway (apart from our launch office 360 which died last week and is now being used as a prop to raise Gav's monitor).
The problem behind the infamous 360 hardware failures, which cost Microsoft $1 billion in warranty extensions, has never been officially disclosed.
According to Gartner analyst Bryan Lewis though, the defect was down to Microsoft's decision to manufacture the 360's graphic chip itself, rather than paying a third party.
If you're keen to find one of the new 'Jasper' 360s, you should look for a manufacturing date as early as June 8, 2008, 'Lot 8031' and up, and 'Team CSON' on the back of the console - though you'll probably have to bribe the bloke behind the counter to see it.
Call us paranoid, but we got all nervous when MS put out an XBLA update announcement yesterday that only spoke of War World's arrival, making no mention of Mega Man 9.
It turns out MS had decided to break the trend of listing every XBLA game for the week in a single press release, because Mega Man 9 is coming today, as MS has now confirmed.
It costs 800 MS Points (which is around £6.60), and is so hard it'll hurt like a hammer to the nuts. But you want it anyway. Fact.
We are happy to announce the Fable II game is in manufacturing and confirmed for Oct-21 in North America and Asia, Oct-24 for Europe.
However, due to supply chain issues, we are revising the Fable II Limited Collector's Edition and the estimated retail price will be reduced from $79.99 to $69.99* USD in North America or as applicable in your market. *These are estimated retail prices; actual retail prices may vary worldwide.
The premium box, five printed fate cards, and Hobbe figure will not be available as part of the Limited Collector's Edition. We apologize for any inconvenience.
The Fable II Limited Collector's Edition will now include the following content at this discounted price:
Fable II game disc
Bonus DVD with new 'Making-of' Feature
Bonus in-game content (requires Xbox Live)
'The Hall of the Dead' Dungeon
'The Wreckager' Legendary Cutlass Weapon
Spartan armor and energy sword
To further show our commitment to the faithful fans, we have created a special Fable album for free download for a limited time! This includes a wonderful selection of Fable 1 music and 3 brand new tracks from the upcoming Fable II soundtrack.
Go to http://www.sumthingdigital.com, and enter "FableCollection" promotion code. This will be available beginning October 6, 2008 @ 9am PST.
An unplanned outage hit Microsoft's Xbox Live service starting Tuesday night, leaving online gamers unable to connect.
Microsoft said the outage was due to an unexpected issue following the maintenance work. Visitors to Microsoft's Xbox Live support page have been offered the following status update.
"Users will not be able to connect or log into Xbox Live," Microsoft said. "We are aware of the problem and working to resolve the issue. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause." http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-10...547-1001_3-0-5
New figures announced today by ChartTrack saw sales of the Microsoft® Xbox 360 increase by 214% in the last two weeks[1], outselling Sony's PlayStation 3 by more than two-to-one and reaffirming its strong momentum in Europe in the wake of its recent reduction in estimated retail price (ERP).
A reduction in the Xbox 360 ERP last week has brought the entry-level price point for Xbox 360 down to £129.99. The reduction is only part of the story though, as the largest marketing campaign in the history of Xbox also launches, inviting everyone to live their music, movies and family gaming 'moments' with Xbox 360 through new television, print and poster ads as well as a totally new look for Xbox.com. Combined with new launches to add to its already impressive line-up of games, movies and wider entertainment content, Xbox 360 is set to drive forward the success that saw sales reach over 6 million in Europe last week.
Through an incredible line-up of games in time for Christmas, including the new singing game Lips and the chance to star in your own B-movie with You're in the Movies among many others, an ever-growing library of downloadable movies, a revolutionary new interface and new interactive games soon to be available through Xbox LIVE, the Xbox 360 is truly becoming the home of mass-market entertainment with something to offer every interest and budget.
Chris Lewis, Vice President, Interactive Entertainment Business EMEA, said: "This data shows that the Xbox 360 trajectory continues upwards, and not just in the UK. We've seen uplift in all countries in Europe and are confident that even at this rate of growth we can keep retail satisfied with a steady supply of consoles throughout the Christmas season. Our commitment to continuously improving and innovating new content, our new high-profile marketing campaign and the fact that we're now the best-value next-gen console on the market with an entry-level ERP of £129.99 combine to make Xbox 360 the right blend of gaming and wider experiences at the right price to offer unparalleled entertainment for everyone. And these figures prove it."
From last Friday, 19th September, Xbox 360, which includes a 60GB hard drive and one wireless controller, has an ERP of £169.99. The Xbox 360 Elite, which comes with a massive 120GB hard drive enabling consumers to store huge quantities of content downloaded from Xbox LIVE® Marketplace as well as their own music, has an ERP of £229.99. The Xbox 360 Arcade console, perfect for those wishing to make their first foray into the gaming and entertainment world of Xbox, has an ERP of £129.99.
This holiday season, Xbox 360 fans are invited to accessorize with Microsoft's award-winning Xbox 360 Wireless Controllers, now available for a limited time in red with newly designed black accents. Experience wireless gaming from up to 30 feet and enjoy uninterrupted play with the included Play & Charge cable and red rechargeable battery, which provides up to 25 hours of play on a single charge. Additionally, when the battery runs low, you're given ample warning so you can connect the included Play & Charge cable for continuous play.
Available in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand and Asia, the Xbox 360 Limited Edition Red Wireless Controller and Play & Charge Kit with red rechargeable battery now come together in a never before available color and at an exceptionally low price of just $64.99 (U.S. estimated retail price (ERP)). This product is the newest addition to Microsoft's line of Xbox Authentic Products and further reinforces Microsoft's commitment to enhancing the way people experience games and entertainment.
According to the Xbox 360 DVD Drive Database, it appears Xbox 360s outfitted with the much-anticipated Jasper chipset have finally started showing up in stores and at online retailers.
The key things to look for when buying a new Xbox 360 with the Jasper chipset is a manufacturing date (MFR) as early as 2008-08-06, Lot 8031 and up, and Team CSON.
After the great success of our previous competition, we are delighted to announce our second competition
This time around the Competition is taking a fairer route, you can only enter Games into this competition. The rules are changed too. The games you can enter are no longer tied to being "Retro themed", no. You can now enter whatever type of Game you like, but you can still gain a 15% judging bonus for having "Retro elements/level" in your Game.
The Prizes this time around are a little different but still awesome. First place is Rock Band 2 + Drums, Guitar, and Microphone! The other places are Retro Consoles all in there Original Boxing and complete with games & controllers! We decided to offer these as the additional prizes due to the nature of our "Retro" orientated site.
As an added bonus the top poster here between now and the end of the competition (staff excluded), will receive a copy of Halo: Combat Evolved for the Xbox + a mystery gift!
The Competition Starts Now (October 1st 2008) & will run until January 1st 2009.
So without further delay, here are the Prizes on offer this time around.
1st Place:
Rock Band 2 for the console of your choice.
Includes game, drums, guitar, and microphone.
2nd :
First pick from the Retro Game Systems listed.
3rd Place :
Second pick from the Retro Game Systems listed.
4th Place :
Remaining Retro Game System listed.
2nd > 4th Place Prizes:
Nintendo 64 Console + 1 Controller & Games.
Games include : Super Mario 64, Goldeneye 007, Zelda ocarina of time, Diddy Kong racing & Castlevania 64.
All games are boxed.
Or :
Sega Dreamcast Console + 2 Controllers, 1 VMU, 1 Dreamkey & Games.
Games include: Fighting Force, Sonic Adventure & Sega worldwide soccer 2000.
All games are in cases.
Or :
Sega Saturn Console + 1 Controller & 6 Games.
Games include : Destruction Derby, Command & Conquer, Virtua Fighter 2, Daytona USA, Sega Rally Championship & Loaded.
All games are in cases.
5th Place:
Final fantasy VII for PSX.
Top Poster (From Oct. 1 to Jan. 1) Prize:
Halo: Combat Evolved for Xbox + A mystery gift!
Competition Start Time & Closing Date :
The Competition will run from October 1st until January 1st.
Platforms Allowed :
We accept entries for the following consoles :
Nintendo Wii, Sony PSP, Nintendo DS, and PC (XP/Vista).
Programming Languages Allowed :
You may use any programming language you wish. However, you must make sure to include any additional data files needed
in order to run your game (ie. .dll's).
Competition Rules :
1) You MUST include the RetroEmu Winter Coding Competition 2008 Splash screen in your entry. There is no exception to this, if your entry doesn't include it, it isn't entered.
2) There is a 10% Judging bonus for the quality of the Splash screen implementation.
3) You may post about your entry at other sites, but you may NOT upload the file to any other site bar RetroEmu during the duration of the competition (if you are having issues uploading your entry please contact me).
4) You can update your game as much as you like during the competition.
5) There is a 15% Judging Bonus for having "Retro Themed Elements/level" in your Game.
6) The Competition runs from now (1st of October) until January 1st, 2009.
7) The Judges are Zack & HardHat while users will account for 10% of the overall judging.
8) Both open source and closed source entries are allowed.
9) Your entry should include a screenshot and sufficient information regarding your Game.
10) The deadline is set to the date specified above, unless there is significant demand for this to be extended it will not be changed.
Splash Screen Images :
The Splash screen images, including PSD and Font files used are available to view/download Here
Entry's :
Please submit your entry or comment on other entry's Here
Spread The Word :
Help the competition grow & help RetroEmu at the same time by DIGGING This Story
New titles have dominated the Japanese software sales chart for the week ended September 28, taking up six of the top ten places, according to data provided by Media Create.
Super Robot Wars Z for the PlayStation 2, by Namco Bandai, broke into the chart at number one by selling 366,000 units. Pokemon Platinum for the Nintendo DS has fallen to second place, followed by Rhythm Tengoku Gold, also for the DS, maintaining its spot at third.
Sega's World Destruction for the DS debuted on the chart in fourth place with 56,000 units and Namco Bandai's Kinikkuman for the PS2 secured fifth place at 35,000 units. Dragonball DS came in seventh, preceding another new title, X-Edge, for the PlayStation 3, selling 22,000 units.
Wii Fit dropped two places from last week to eighth, while the chart was closed by two new titles, Aquanaut's Holiday for the PS3 with 18,000 units at nine and Disaster: Day of Crisis for the Wii with 14,000 units at ten.
Japanese software chart follows:
01. Super Robot Wars Z (PS2)
02. Pokemon Platinum (DS)
03. Rhythm Tengoku Gold (DS)
04. World Destruction (DS)
05. Kinikkuman (PS2)
06. Dragonball DS (DS)
07. X-Edge (PS3)
08. Wii Fit (Wii)
09. Aquanaut's Holiday (PS3)
10. Disaster: Day of Crisis (Wii)
The Sony PlayStation Portable was the fastest selling piece of hardware in Japan between March 31 and September 28, according to Famitsu, and reported by Kotaku.
Mario Kart Wii was named the highest selling software title for the first half of the year. However this came as news broke that the Japanese home videogame market shrunk 21.3 per cent during the same six month period.
Forget the lames waiting for a New Xbox Experience to bring Netflix streaming to the console, the latest edition of Media Mall's PlayOn Media Server beta includes Watch Instantly support right now. An update notification should be on the way to anyone already testing things out, the impatient can grab it from the website. Also streaming Hulu, CBS, YouTube, ESPN and others to the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, HP MediaSmart TV or other DLNA hardware (Nintendo Wii's still on the coming-soon list) the presence of Netflix (and the recent Watch Instantly additions) gives even more reason to check it out. Since its still in beta don't be surprised to find a few issues, but considering our smooth sailing so far, the list of reservations over its $30 price tag (after the 60 day free trial period is over) is rapidly shrinking.
Rare's taken another stab at everyone who reckons Banjo-Kazooie has abandoned its roots, with a new video showing the BIGGEST platforming playground we've ever seen.
This is the game's hub world, Showdown Town, where the only vehicle you can use is essentially a big trolley with wheels - everything else is on foot.
you pay close attention you'll also spot a suspicious (and familiar) '?' egg at the end of the video, likely to do with the Stop 'n' Swop cross-over between 'Bolts and the XBLA re-release.
Watch the trailer below (and to the right a little) and read our recent hands-on for more.
Microsoft's released the fourth instalment in its Gears of War 2 vidoc series, which lets you watch Cliff Bleszinski, Mike Capps and co speak over gameplay footage. It's the latter we're interested in.
This one's about the baddies, showcasing enemies we already know about (the preist-like Kantis and hulking Brumack) and also some new ones (a Locust bloke riding a sort of demented horse...)
Unless our heads are making up lies, there's also a bit of a story spoiler near the beginning regarding the Locust's origin. So close your ears if you're that bothered.
Watch the previous videos on the plot, the guns and the sound, plus our hands-on and interview with Cliff Bleszinski for more.
Via :http://www.gamedaily.com
Today, EA Sports announced a special version of the latest Madden called Madden NFL 09 Pink. The game will be available at retail exclusively through Target during the month of October – to coincide with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Consumers can also purchase the game online through Target.com and NFLShop.com. Proceeds from the game, which features a special pink ribbon cover, will contribute to a donation to the Deanna Favre HOPE Foundation.
It's that time of the week folks and again sales for consoles in Japan have another miserable week as the data and rank changes below imply:
Nintendo DS Lite: 57,847
Nintendo Wii: 26,314
Playstation Portable: 25,671
Xbox 360: 11,291
Playstation 2: 9,848
Playstation 3: 8,275
In rough figures, first off: the DS Lite stays on top, down 4,000. The Wii is 2nd, down 3,600. The PSP goes down 3,000. The Xbox 360 comes 4th, down 2,500. The last 5th and 6th places see a change; the PS2 increases by 1,700, swapping places with the PS3 which slides downwards into 6th by 500 units. Stats via Media Create
Welcome to this week's Games Update, our weekly summary featuring all new product arrivals from the last seven days.
The tide of games are still coming in, flooding our warehouse. Raiden IV, the highly anticipated newest installment to the exhilarating shooter Raiden has arrived on your Xbox360™ consoles. Fly your craft, shoot down enemies, save the planet from invasion and admire the cutting edge graphics displayed by your 3rd generation system.
Eeriness is permeating the air even before Halloween arrives. Come home to Silent Hill and rediscover the resort town's disturbing history and residents as you search for your brother. With the graphical and audio capabilities of the PlayStation3™, the line between your nightmare and reality will be forever blurred.
Quite a lot of Japanese adventure games spot engaging storylines and by localizing them for English speaking audiences, more people can enjoy them. Time Hollow is a good example of such games. Stepping into the shoes of the protagonist, you right the errors that happened in the past in order to retrieve your disappeared family.
Aside from Time Hollow, the comedic RPG Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure and Disgaea Afternoon of Darkness [Nintendo DS™, Sony PSP™]are also localized for English speaking audiences. Save Prince Charming from the witch's clutches and claim your rightful place as the overlord of the netherworlds.
Although this summer has already passed us by, it is never too late to spend time at the beach with a team of pretty girls.
Rito, plagued with bad luck in the romance department is finally getting a break in To Love Ru Trouble: Rinkaigakkou-Hen [Limited, Standard Editions]. He is sent by the school master to spend time at a seaside academy. But again, paradise can always turn into a nightmare and vice versa with the team of alien girls around.
Namco Bandai Games has released fighter compilations for PlayStation2™. Namco Classic Fighter Collection and Shonen Jump Naruto: Ultimate Collection both feature three exciting games. It is your great chance to try out the games you have meant to play but missed and save some cash in the process.
Besides classic games, new fighters are released on Sony's newest portable console. Ikkitousen the hit manga is converted to Eloquent Fist [Limited, Standard versions] for Sony PSP™. The voluptuous girls are rebirths of warriors from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms era and their conquests have just begun, enjoy the fan service provided along with the adrenaline pumping combat.
After pummeling the living daylights out of your opponents in fighters and destroying enough air crafts in the shooters, its time to contruct something. In SimCity Creator [Nintendo Wii™, Nintendo DS™] you have absolute power over a city, after all, as its creator you can make additions to it and destroy it at will.
Last but not least, something for the whole family. The high ranking quiz show Buzz Quiz TV came out on PlayStation3™, complete with 4 buzzers. Test who is the most knowledgeable person in your family by challenging each other in the game show. Aside from using the TV, you can take your favourite program with you wherever you go as Buzz! Master Quiz is available on Sony PSP™.
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™
Baja: Edge of Control US US$ 64.90
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway US US$ 64.90
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway [Limited Edition] US US$ 79.90
Lego Batman ASIA US$ 49.90
Madden NFL 09 (en Espanol) US US$ 64.90
Raiden IV JPN US$ 64.90
Shin Sangoku Musou 5 (Chinese language Version) ASIA US$ 64.90
Warriors Orochi 2 US US$ 54.90
PlayStation3™
Baja: Edge of Control US US$ 64.90
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway US US$ 64.90
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway [Limited Edition] US US$ 79.90
Buzz Quiz TV (w/ 4 Wireless Buzzers) US US$ 79.90
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PlayStation3 the Best) ASIA US$ 39.90
Madden NFL 09 (en Espanol) US US$ 64.90
Shin Sangoku Musou 5 (Chinese language Version) ASIA US$ 64.90
Silent Hill: Homecoming ASIA US$ 59.90
Warhawk (PlayStation3 the Best) ASIA US$ 29.90
Nintendo Wii™
Brothers in Arms: Double Time US US$ 54.90
Cabela's Dangerous Hunts '09 US US$ 44.90
Jikkyou Powerful Major League 3 JPN US$ 59.90
Lost in Blue: Shipwrecked! US US$ 34.90
Margot's Word Brain US US$ 34.90
Pitfall: The Lost Expedition US US$ 44.90
Samba De Amigo US US$ 44.90
Sim City Creator US US$ 54.90
de Blob US US$ 59.90
PlayStation2™
Jikkyou Powerful Major League 3 JPN US$ 64.90
Kanuchi: Shiroki Tsubasa no Shou JPN US$ 64.90
Kanuchi: Shiroki Tsubasa no Shou [Limited Edition] JPN US$ 89.00
Kanuchi: Shiroki Tsubasa no Shou [Special Limited Edition] JPN US$ 99.90
Namco Classic Fighter Collection US US$ 34.90
Pac-Man Power Pack US US$ 34.90
Shin Sangoku Musou 5 Special JPN US$ 64.90
Shonen Jump Naruto: Ultimate Collection US US$ 34.90
SingStar Pop Vo.l 2 US US$ 34.90
The Magician's Academy (eb! Kore) JPN US$ 34.90
Warriors Orochi 2 US US$ 34.90
Nintendo DS™
Babysitting Mania US US$ 24.90
Brain Quest Grades 3 & 4 US US$ 34.90
Dinosaur King US US$ 34.90
Disgaea DS US US$ 34.90
Drop Cast US US$ 24.90
My Little Pony: Pinkie Pie's Party US US$ 24.90
My SAT Coach with The Princeton Review US US$ 34.90
My Secret World by Imagine US US$ 34.90
Nakamura Sumiko Tettei Shidou: Shin Toeic Test 1-hi-1-fun DS Lesson JPN US$ 29.90
Nancy Drew: The Hidden Staircase US US$ 34.90
Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure US US$ 34.90
Shaun the Sheep US US$ 34.90
Sim City Creator US US$ 34.90
Time Hollow US US$ 34.90
Unknown Soldier: Mokuba no Houkou JPN US$ 48.90
World Destruction: Michibi Kareshi Ishi [ebten DX Pack] JPN N/A
Sony PSP™
Buzz! Master Quiz US US$ 24.90
Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness ASIA US$ 14.90
Dragoneer's Aria ASIA US$ 14.90
Ikkitousen: Eloquent Fist JPN US$ 48.90
Ikkitousen: Eloquent Fist [Limited Edition] JPN US$ 95.00
Lego Batman US US$ 34.90
To Love Ru Trouble: Doki Doki! Rinkaigakkou-Hen JPN US$ 48.90
To Love Ru Trouble: Doki Doki! Rinkaigakkou-Hen [Limited Edition] JPN US$ 74.90
PC Games
Mount & Blade (DVD-ROM) ASIA US$ 39.90
The Settlers VI (Gold Edition) US US$ 34.90
Video Game Soundtracks
Ayakashi No Miya Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 27.90
Chocobo Racing Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 19.90
Crest of Z's Toshin No Monsho (Super Robot Taisen Z Intro Theme) (~Jam Project) JPN US$ 11.90
Fate / Tiger Colosseum Upper Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 19.90
Hakuoki - Shinsengumi Kitan Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 27.90
Knights in the Nightmare Perfect Audio Collection Plus JPN US$ 29.90
Neo Angelique Abyss Neo Angelique Abyss Second Age Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 30.90
Tears To Tiara Kakan No Daichi Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 28.90
Yuu Kobayashi's Monthly Fumiaki Kobayashi Radio CD October Issue (~Yuu Kobayashi) JPN US$ 32.90 Game Guides and Magazines
Aoikuro no Kusabi: Hiiro no Kakera 3 Official Visual Fan Book JPN US$ 38.90
Arcadia Magazine [November 2008] JPN US$ 12.90
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway: Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 19.90
Codes & Cheats Fall 2008: Prima Games Code Book US US$ 9.90
Dengeki PlayStation Final Fantasy XI Dengeki Ryodan Chronicle 2 2004.6-2006.12 JPN US$ 29.90
Famitsu Connect! On "Connect! On" Vol. 23 November JPN US$ 11.90
Famitsu PSP + PS3 [November 2008] JPN US$ 10.90
Famitsu Wave DVD [November 2008] JPN US$ 16.50
Famitsu Xbox 360 [November 2008] JPN US$ 10.90
Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- Setting Sourcebook JPN US$ 43.90
Hoshizora no Comic Garden Official Visual Fan Book JPN US$ 33.90
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 15 Perfect Guide JPN US$ 26.90
Labyrinth City Night Wizard 2 Source Book JPN US$ 32.90
Lego Batman: Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 19.90
Maple Story Master Book 2008.1 Version JPN US$ 23.90
Maple Story Master Book Ikusei Hen 2008. 01 Version JPN US$ 23.90
Memories Off 6: Trial Wave Visual Guide Book JPN US$ 36.90
Nobunaga no Yabou Online Souha no Shou 2008.8.27 Official Guide Vol.1 JPN US$ 32.90
Soul Calibur IV Perfect Guide JPN US$ 29.90
Street Fighter IV Master Guide JPN US$ 23.90
Super Robot Taisen Z Player's Bible JPN US$ 18.90
Tales of Symphonia: Knight of Ratatosk Perfect Tour Guide JPN US$ 31.90
Tech Gian Brilliant 2008 Vol.1 JPN US$ 35.90
Weekly Famitsu No. 1033 (2008 10/10) JPN US$ 7.90
Here is a quick outlook what's expected to be hot next week.
Xbox360™
NBA Live 09 US US$ 64.90
NBA Live 09 ASIA US$ 44.90
Silent Hill: Homecoming US US$ 64.90
PlayStation3™
NBA Live 09 US US$ 64.90
NBA Live 09 ASIA US$ 49.90
Silent Hill: Homecoming US US$ 64.90
Nintendo Wii™
Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility US US$ 59.90
PlayStation2™
Cabela's Dangerous Hunts '09 US US$ 34.90
Onimusha: The Essentials US US$ 39.90
Nintendo DS™
Kirby: Super Star Ultra US US$ 39.90
Sonic Chronicles: Dark Brotherhood US US$ 39.90
Sony PSP™ Macross Ace Frontier JPN US$ 48.90
Valhalla Knights 2 US US$ 44.90
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed has dominated the Spanish and German software sales charts for the week ended September 21 by taking up seven places across the two regions' top ten, according to data provided by Media-Control GfK International.
PC MMO Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning has assumed the top spot of the German chart, followed by Crysis: Warhead in second place and Civilisation IV: Colonization at third, also for the PC.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for the PlayStation 3 took fourth place, Mario Kart Wii secured fifth place, Wii Fit took sixth place and Spore for the PC came in seventh.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for the Wii, PlayStation 2, and Xbox 360 closed off the chart at eighth, ninth and tenth places respectively.
Nintendo's Wii Fit topped the Spanish software sales chart, preceding Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for the PS3 in second place and Warhammer Online in third.
Wii Play came in at number four, Mario Kart Wii at five, and Star Wars the Force Unleashed for the PS2 and Wii came in at six and seven respectively. Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction for the PS3 came in eighth, Play Chapas: Football Edition for the PlayStation Portable came in ninth, and Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat? for the DS took tenth place.
German software sales chart follows:
1. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC)
2. Crysis: Warhead (PC)
3. Civilisation IV: Colonisation (PC)
4. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS3)
5. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
6. Wii Fit (Wii)
7. Spore (PC)
8. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Wii)
9. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS2)
10. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Xbox 360)
Spanish software sales chart follows:
1. Wii Fit (Wii)
2. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS3)
3. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC)
4. Wii Play (Wii)
5. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
6. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS2)
7. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Wii)
8. Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction (PS3)
9. Play Chapas: Football Edition (PSP)
10. Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat? (DS)
Are ten multiplayer maps in Gears of War 2 not good enough for you? How about fifteen? Epic Games is packing a special treat into every retail Copy of Gears 2 - a coupon redeemable via Xbox Live good that allows players to download five additional maps for the game, each one a slightly more polished version of a map from the first game. The Flashback Map Pack includes newer versions of Canals, Gridlock, Mansion, Subway, and Tyro Station, and will only be available to folks who purchase the game new, making buying a used copy a bit less attractive.
Epic has also revealed to the folks at GamePro that people who attend midnight launch events around the country will also be able to snag a code for a gold-plated Hammerburst assault rifle, the perfect companion to the gold-plated Lancer that comes with the special edition.
features
Official Wireless Guitar, suitable for EA's Rock Band 2 video game
Sturdier, more precise strum bass
Built in Sensor allowing quick and seamless calibration
Retooled tilt sensor for improved overdrive deployment
More realistic neck and body design
Quieter buttons
features
This Signature Series guide features a comprehensive walkthrough of the entire game
In-depth area maps
Extensive character coverage
Detailed items listing
Signature Series guide includes bonus content, exclusive foldout and more!
Platform: Xbox 360
features
Signature Series guide includes bonus art section, exclusive foldout and more!
This Signature Series Guide features a comprehensive walkthrough of the entire game.
In-depth area maps
Extensive data on available weapons and items
Character listing
Detailed bestiary
Coverage of all five alternate endings
Platform: PlayStation3, Xbox360
Have you ever needed to solder something but the nearest power outlet was too far away, out of reach, or simply not available? Then the modPRO MP-61 Cordless Soldering Iron is the perfect tool for you!
You can use it to solder almost anything that needs soldering but electricity is out of easy reach or unavailable. Over 140 solder joints with fresh batteries.
This lightweight, cordless soldering iron is powered by 3 AA batteries(included), which means soldering without the hassle of cords! Order your MP-61 cordless soldering iron from ConsoleSource.com today for only $24.95.
Features:
Power rating: 6W/4.5V
Power supply: 3 x AA batteries
Preheating time: 15 sec
Temperature range: 450°C/842°F
Tip type: HQ Iron plated Long Life tip
Tip shape: Pencil point
Tip diameter/lenght: 3mm/10.3mm
Replacement tip: modPRO MP-62
Kit Includes:
Cordless 6W Soldering Iron
3 x Duracell AA batteries
Safety cap
Small tip-changer tool
1m thin lead-free solder (0.8mm)
Instructions in English, German, Spanish, Italian, Swedish and French.
Liteon drive key dumping is now a reality thanks to the Maximus 360 Xtractor. The 360 Xtractor promises to be the only tool you will ever need to modify your Xbox 360. The 360 Xtractor support RS232 and USB protocols permitting Liteon Key Dumping. The 360 Xtractor also functions as improved Conectivity Kit for powering up any Xbox 360 drive.
ConsoleSource.com is now accepting pre-orders for the Maximus 360 Xtractor.
Features:
RS232 Support (Liteon Key dumping)
USB Support inside Windows (Liteon Key dumping)
Power Feed all XBOX 360 Drives
Automatic Mode-B on Hitachi 59 and earlier (78/79 require slax)
Compatible with already released tools (dvdkey/dvdkey32)
Native Toolbox support soon
Onboard ON/OFF switch
Onboard Eject tactile switch
High Quality and Heavy Duty Parts
Safe and Tested Design
Other small features to be released will be announced later
Team Xecuter has updated its famous Xbox 360 connectivity kit to include compatibility with Liteon drives. The Xecuter 360 Connectivity Kit V3 Pro is available for $49.95 and the Xecuter 360 Connectivity Kit V3 Lite is available for $29.95 from ConsoleSource.com. Pre-orders are now being accepted.
New in this kit is the ability to extract the key from the new Liteon drives in order for you to be able to use another model drive which can be updated / repaired.
The brand new, high quality ‘Xecuter 360 Connectivity Kit’ features not one but two great pieces of equipment. Included in the kit is an optical disc drive adapter (ODD) so that means you will not have to have your beloved 360 hooked up to your PC, no fuss of moving all your equipment across rooms and dragging around that huge 360 power supply! As if that wasn’t enough, Team Xecuter have also bundled in a FREE SATA hard drive adapter for the Xbox 360, so now you can hook up your hard drive to your PC without opening your Xbox 360 case in conjunction with freely available software such as Xplorer 360.
Features:
USB Support (Liteon Key dumping)
Powers ALL XBOX 360 DVD Drives
Mode-B on Hitachi 59 & Earlier (78/79 Require Slax Disc)
Compatible with already released tools (dvdkey/dvdkey32/toolbox etc)
Onboard ON/OFF Switch
Onboard Eject Switch
FREE 360 Hard Drive Adapter
FREE SATA Cable
FREE USB Cable
High Build Quality
Trusted Xecuter Design
Latest news about the XCM Rapid Fire Gear Lite for the Xbox 360 wireless controllers we've all been waiting for. Here goes:
1. The rapid fire feature will be easily programmable/reprogrammable to any button (fire buttons A,B,X,Y, Right Trigger, Left Trigger, Right Bumper, Left Bumper) by simply pressing and holding down the rapid fire button on top of the controller case and pressing and holding the button you want to have rapid fire until the LED blinks. Also disabling the rapid fire function will be done using the same technique. This allows for an infinate rapid fire configuration that will please EVERYONE! This is really the ultimate rapid fire mod people have been waiting for.
Comparision: Many rapid fire mods available on the net (Ebay, etc) will either do just one button or several buttons at once, but this does not allow you to use different configurations for different games. So if you have it modded for Halo 3 for example, it will not work so well in COD4, Gears of War, etc. This is a huge downfall of these types of mods and is why most people have stayed away from them until now. Not to mention these types of mods are really expensive and make the controller look wierd with a huge on/off button sticking out of the back of the controller. The XCM Rapid Fire Gear Lite on the other hand uses a tiny button similar to the buttons that turn on the LED lights on the other XCM replacement Xbox 360 controller cases. This makes it look professional and keeps the button out of the way so you do not bump it during play.
2. The D-Pad has been redesigned and optimised. Simply put the current d-pad is inadequate for normal gameplay, however most of us have gotten use to it and have stopped complaining about it until now. The XCM Rapid Fire Gear Lite however uses a much larger d-pad with more room to allow the d-pad to move more when using it. This will make sure you do not accidentially hit another direction on the d-pad while trying to access something else. For example when switching weapons on most first person shooters.
3. Installation will not be dummy-proof. The installation process is not too difficult but it does require some soldering and the cutting of a couple of traces. This is not a problem to most people but obviously it will be to some. The overall process is pretty simple and painless but the ability to solder is a must, or at least the ability to learn how to solder. Extreme-Mods.com will be offering a service to send your controller into for the installation of this mod to your existing wireless controller for those that cannot perform this task on their own. You can also visit our discussion forum at http://www.XCM-USA.com/forums/ and there will be people present to assist you in the installation process and troubleshooting of this device or any product under the XCM brand.
So in conclusion this is a well designed and well executed modification that will soon be available to the general public shortly (mid-late next week). This will be the rapid fire mod people have been dreaming of, and once installed it will work exactly like everyone had always wished for. Pre-Orders will be taken within the next couple of days on www.Extreme-Mods.com so get in line as soon as possible to reserve your unit when they do finally ship.
Head of Microsoft Game Studios Phil Spencer has even said that he understands the loyalty that European consumers have traditionally held for Sony products, and his team is working hard to create games that appeal to niche demands.
"I understand as a gamer the brand that Sony has here, and the work that we need to do to build content and franchises that uniquely resonate with the customers in the different European markets," commented Spencer in an interview published today.
"Investment in studios, investment in people on the ground creating games is critical to us succeeding in this market."
The Xbox 360 has sold over six million units in Europe, 2.3 million of which are in the UK alone.
MCV reports that Sainsbury's is set to offer substantial price reductions for the Xbox 360 from tomorrow. According to the publication's sources the Xbox 360 Arcade will go on sale at £99.97 - a £30 price cut - while the 60GB model will be available for £139.97.
The price cuts won't be permanent though, with MCV noting that Sainsbury's will run the promotion between October 3 and October 12.
I've been on a big Worms kick lately on my Xbox 360. It's the perfect game for four semi-sober dudes to play together, as its full of dicking each other over and explosions while being slow paced enough for even those with the most dulled reaction times to still participate. But when I've tried it with friends via Xbox Live, it just hasn't been as fun.
As the fall update and accompanying New Xbox Experience creep ever closer to our purring, anticipatory 360s, further details about the renovated dashboard continue to surface -- the latest of these is a sneak peek at how the Games Store will function under the NXE, courtesy of Xbox community site Gamerscore Blog.
To put it simply, the new Games Store will provide every game with its own comprehensive page, complete with tabs displaying screenshots, trailers, information about the title, and all available downloads pertaining to the game. If that made little to no sense, they've got a more detailed rundown on Gamerscore Blog -- but it finally seems like we won't have to search through an ocean of DLC to find those Bomberman: Act Zero gamerpics we've been coveting for oh-so-long.
We were awakened last night by a terrible din -- a wailing which echoed through our streets like a funeral dirge. The sound poured from nearby houses; voices making slightly varied proclamations with a singular theme. In near-unison, they pierced the night: "WHERE IS MASTER CHIEF?", "WHY NO LASER SWORDS?", and, perplexingly, "GEOFF KEIGHLEY, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH CORTANA?"
These confused souls were reacting to the cinematic trailer for Ensemble Studios' swan song, Halo Wars, which debuted on GameTrailers TV last night. For those who were laying eyes upon the title for the first time, we can understand any resulting bewilderment. The trailer (which we've posted after the break) is excellent, though it boldly lacks the things players love about the series to date -- including any sign of returning characters, or any heinous acts of postmortem facial desecration.
Time to Tell Us Dammit, no make that, TELL US DAMMIT. Here's how it works: We ask a question, you answer it. Simple and no strings attached! This isn't some marketing survey or whatever. It's an emotional investment in you. Yes, we're interested in knowing you, Kotaku reader person. You probably know ****tons about us — more than you even want to, we're sure. But, hey, we'd like to know about you. That way you won't be some faceless blob — and we might feel a tinge of guilt when we ban your ass. Or not, because really we're incapable of human emotion. Who knows! Not I, not I.
Question: What's the most you've shelled out for a game?
ShackNews reports on an emerging trend which sees game publishers offer one-time bonus codes to unlock extra content for certain titles. Rock Band 2, for example, comes with a code which will allow free 20-song download, but is only usable once. NBA Live '09 has functionality to update team rosters on a daily basis, but will only do so for the original owner. "'This information and data is very valuable and it wasn't free for us,' an EA representative explained on Operation Sports. 'T-Mobile is paying for it this year for all users who buy the game new. This is a very expensive tool to use, and if you don't buy it new, then you'll have to pay for this. It isn't greed at all.'"
Readers currently residing in the United Kingdom -- your wait is over. At long last, you'll be able to experience one of 2007's best selling, most critically acclaimed titles -- Rockstar's controversial thriller, Manhunt 2. After being turned down by the British Board of Film Classification for its "unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone," a reworked, SFEurope version of the game will be launched in the UK for the Wii, PS2 and PSP on October 31. We know, we can barely contain our excitement either.
Sure, it may lack a few of the more grisly elements included in the inappropriate North American version, but if your hands are shaking with anticipation as you read this report -- as we're sure they are -- we imagine you'll be able to overlook a few omitted acts of power drill-related violence.
Before beginning this post, we have a number of important announcements to make:
It is currently October.
Sandwiches, when prepared correctly, are delicious.
Salt is salty.
There are five items in this list.
You are currently reading Joystiq.
What's that? You're not sure why we're announcing things you already know? Perhaps you'll be equally flabbergasted by a rumor that LucasArts and Bioware will likely soon reveal the Knights of the Old Republic MMO that EA CEO John Riccitiello already totally confirmed. The rumor originates from a blurb in UK newspaper Daily Star, the author of which claims he's coming stateside to check the title out at LucasArts HQ. If the author is on the level, we certainly expect one of the two developers to "reveal" the title before his article goes to print. Perhaps they can still surprise the eleven people on the planet that don't already know about it.
The recent round of price cuts for the Xbox 360 is not a reaction to slowing sales for the home console, according to Microsoft's Steve Ballmer.
Speaking to the Mercury News, the chief executive said the Xbox business is an unqualified success, with the console continuing to sell well.
"That's the craziest thing I've ever heard anybody say," offered Ballmer when asked whether price reductions were evidence that Microsoft had run out of ideas to boost hardware sales. "All consoles start at higher prices. They always come down through the long cycle."
Although Microsoft has now cut the price of the hardware twice in one year, raising questions about offering lower prices within six months of each other, Ballmer said pricing strategies are never discussed outside of the company.
"Price is not something you discuss externally. Nobody ever does. So, whether we were planning on cutting price the next day or in six months or a year, we're not going to discuss price changes. If you ask me, Xbox Live is going gangbusters. The console is selling well."
He added: "I certainly would say the work that we've done around Xbox is an unqualified success. No question about that. The product is selling very well. The Xbox is an absolute home run."
Following last month's price cuts, the Xbox 360 has sold over six million sales in Europe.
Free Radical has released the first concept art for Timesplitters 4, and it's looking good.
The art shows parodies of various other games including Cat Racing: Underground (Need for Speed) and Sister Jobeth Vs Zombie Apocalypse (could be any shooter).
We're liking the humour angle but the question is, will it be any good after the pretty average Haze? We've got our fingers crossed.
Fans have found a rather calamitous multiplayer bug in Rock Band 2 that wipes groups from the hard drive.
The issue only seems to be affecting Xbox 360, according to the Rock Band forums (spotted by Kotaku). It triggers on consoles with a Live enabled primary account and non-Live enabled secondary account. Probably quite common, that.
If that's the case, then a frustratingly long way into the campaign the tour band will disappear, a bit like Chesney Hawks. The only option is to restart, risking the glitch being triggered again somewhere down the line.
Despite fan grumbles, developer Harmonix has made no mention of the bug in over three weeks. Distributor EA is looking into the matter.
Rock Band 2 is only available in the US on Xbox 360 for the moment, and has yet to be given any kind of European date. But that's not stopped us getting a copy, and we'll bring you a review later this week.
Eidos is to release exclusive Tomb Raider: Underworld content for the Xbox 360, amounting to around six hours of extra material in two distinct chapters.
The first chapter, Beneath the Ashes, will be available over Xbox Live Marketplace this Christmas, with the second chapter, Lara's Shadow, due early 2009.
"We’re thrilled that Xbox owners will be able to extend their Lara Croft adventures with exclusive Tomb Raider: Underworld episodes," commented George Peckham, general manager of global third party publishing for Microsoft.
"We look forward to continue working closely with our great publishing partners to deliver the most robust gaming experiences, only on Xbox 360."
Tomb Raider: Underworld isn't the only high-profile title with exclusive downloadable content for the Xbox 360. New content for Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV is expected on the console before the end of the year.
Tomb Raider: Underworld will also be released on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PC, Wii and DS.
Lego Batman is shipping to retailers this Friday, and we've got a bunch of new screens for you.
Featuring an original storyline and 30 levels, TT Games' Lego Batman allows you to play as either a hero or villain, from Gotham favourites such as the Caped Crusader, Robin, Alfred and Batgirl, to The Joker, Two-Face and Mr. Freeze.
The game's out on 360, PS3, Wii, PC, PS2, PSP and DS, so there's no hiding from it.
Me? Loads. Picross DS for one, the world's greatest time consuming, least noticeable time wasting game for the Nintendo DS. I also played... *deep breath* Street Fighter IV, Rambo, Gals Panic S, Deathsmiles, Tenchi Wo Kurau II - Sekiheki No Tatakai, Crush Roller (at various Japanese arcades) and some Cube Runner (on the iPhone). On that last one, I was slightly drunk in a cab and wanted to see how well I'd do while en route to Shibuya. All that other stuff — just for fun. Did pretty well at Deathsmiles, given that it was my first time at it.
Picked up a few things gaming related, an Opa-Opa gashapon, plus a Darkstalkers collection and Fantasy Zone Complete for the PlayStation 2. Can't wait to see both alphabetized on my shelf at home!
Oh yeah, what'd you play this weekend? Sorry for not preemptively asking!
features
Shot Stick Advanced - The revolutionary Shot Stick control system takes it one step further, allowing you to change your shots in mid-air.
Adaptive AI - Adaptive AI will read, react, and adjust in real time to your strategies. Your teammates will initiate cuts, picks, and post-ups based on how you handle the ball, while your opponent modifies strategy to fit the pace of the game.
The Association 2.0 - The BEST just got even better. With NBA.com, you'll have access to all the latest rumors, trades, scores news stories and more, plus new features like Player Personalities, Ambitions, and Player Roles, a plethora of customizable options, and NEW mini-game drills make this is the deepest and most robust Franchise mode on the market.
2K-HD - Drastically improved facial and skin textures, better uniforms, improved eye movement and more realistic crowd reactions bring the game alive like never before.
All-New Broadcast Team - Analyst Clark Kellogg and sideline reporter Cheryl Miller join color commentator Kevin Harlan to create one of the most knowledgeable broadcast teams in the game.
Better Replays & Cut Scenes - End each quarter with enhanced, multiple angle replay highlights, and be rewarded like never before with all-new, true-to-life celebration sequences after you capture the NBA championship.
NBA 2K Online Features - 2K Sports' industry leading online service gets all-new features like 5-on-5 Multiplayer mode with Total Team Control and a new ranking system--from Bench Warmer to Rookie to Pro to Superstar--that shows you how to match up against your opponents.
2K Share - Create, upload, and share rosters, sliders, and even players created with the all-new Player DNA feature. This also includes the newly revamped Reelmaker, where you can now direct your own digital video highlight reels and post them on 2KSports.com or your personal web page for all the world to watch and admire.
description
The undisputed NBA franchise is back for its 10th season. Last year, NBA 2K8 was the top selling basketball game on Xbox 360 and the NBA 2K series has been the #1 rated NBA simulation for seven years running. NBA 2K9 is the premier basketball game for serious players, and will deliver the most realistic, stylistic, and feature-rich simulation experience ever available in the NBA 2K franchise – from game play to graphics, presentation and online features.
features
Enter the next chapter of Silent Hill as you delve deeper in the tormented history of the town and learn of the evil that surrounds Toluca Lake
From the murky fog to the ominous shadows, all-new next-gen graphics bring Silent Hill to life like never before
Solve treacherous and deadly puzzles to discover the mysterious secrets behind the evil that has cursed the town of Silent Hill
Silent Hill Homecoming features an all-new soundtrack by acclaimed series composer Akira Yamaoka
description
In Silent Hill Homecoming, Alex Shepherd has returned to his hometown of Shepherd’s Glen to investigate the sudden disappearance of his brother. From Shepherd’s Glen to the foggy streets of Silent Hill, Alex will face the darkest of horrors while struggling with his own grip on reality. Alex must unravel the mystery behind his nightmares, discover the truth behind his brother’s disappearance, and confront the evil that has taken hold of his soul.
The DCEmu Prize Give Away (Worldwide edition), will be ending on Friday, so if you want to get you hands on one of 3 R4 Revolution R4SDHC DS cards or one of 20 runner up discount codes for Colourful-zone.com enter the contest NOW!
FIFA 09 has taken the top spot of the UK software sales chart for the week ended October 4, according to data provided by Chart Track.
EA's football game outsold last year's game by 37.5 per cent, 42 per cent of which was on the Xbox 360 version making it the console's third fastest selling title. FIFA 09 pushed Star Wars: The Force Unleashed down a place to number two, with sales declining 40 per cent from last week.
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway climbed a position from last week to take third place, while Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii both fell two places to fourth and fifth respectively. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 came in sixth, up one place from last week, however Wii Play dropped a place to come in seventh.
Big Beach Sports jumped up one place to number eight, Disney's racing game Pure dropped a place in its second week to number nine and Carnival: Funfair Games came in tenth, down from seventh last week.
The UK software sales chart follows:
1. FIFA 09
2. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
3. Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
4. Wii Fit
5. Mario Kart Wii
6. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09
7. Wii Play
8. Big Beach Sports
9. Pure
10 Carnival: Funfair Games
Having given Fable 2 9/10 in his own unofficial review last month, Lionhead's Peter Molyneux is now dispensing tips and instructions to those of us who had to wait.
According to Variety, US review copies were accompanied with letters from Molyneux asking critics to "please, please, please, please, please find somebody who doesn't play games, watch them play it and see how their world turns out, because I think it's only when you see those differences that the unique experiences comes through".
Fable 2 was designed to "appeal to anybody", he said, and it's certainly been a theme of Molyneux's public pronouncements and the systems upon which the game is built, including the simple combat mechanics and the dog, who acts as a visual cue for a lot of content and events you might otherwise miss at a glance.
Molyneux also explained that the delayed online co-op mode would not be available to review until after the game comes out.
Lionhead is far from the first developer to issue letters and pleas with its review code, as you might imagine. Most recently, in a letter accompanying copies of Alone in the Dark from Atari, developer Eden Studios spoke up for its unorthodox design and politely asked reviewers to pay attention to it.
Fable 2 is due out exclusively for Xbox 360 on 24th October, and you can read our most recent Fable 2 hands-on preview for more information, and check out last week's interview with senior folks on the Fable 2 art team for more insight into the game's development.
Oh no. This isn’t your mama’s fighting game. This is FaceBreaker, an all-out, hit ‘em where it counts arcade boxing phenomenon from EA SPORTS Freestyle.
Put your onions on the line by calling out the most disrespectful fighters around, and see if you have what it takes to dominate the most hazardous boxing video game since … never.
Whether you’re a hard-as-nails fighting machine or laying the smack down for the first time, pound your most hated rivals into the canvas in FaceBreaker, where only the strong survive.
As forgiving as you are, there must have been at least one person whom you hated, feel the joy of pummeling your most hated person until he is completely disfigured and have your stress levels lowered in the process as well.
Release your righteous fury on your opponents in FaceBreaker. The wonderful stress reliever is this week's special product, the Xbox360™ game is an Asian version and is playable on US, Japanese/Asian consoles.
FaceBreaker is sold at a bargain price US$ 29.90 only.
NBA LIVE 09 is back with the game that rewrites the book on authenticity and connectivity, but is still accessible enough for new fans to get in on the ground floor.
New features like Pick and Roll Control, Defensive Lockdown Control, Signature Playcalling, and Quickstrike Ankle-Breakers make the Xbox LIVE® experience fun, long-lasting, and satisfying.
For those in need of some extra coaching, NBA LIVE 09 takes you to training camp with the NBA Academy that gives you a chance to hone your skills.
Game Features:
This new two-man game mechanic lets you control both the ball handler and the screener, as you set screens and run two-man plays, with on court instructions popping up to guide you through each play
Introducing an accessible in-game playcalling system that pushes on-court visualization to guide you through the play
the most out of your game and hone your skills when you jump into the game with an all-new practice facility
Force your defender to step up and guess what you'll do next
This new risk/reward system locks in your check on defense
With 24 national teams to choose from, you can compete in an international tournament using authentic FIBA rosters and teams, including, the United States, Spain, France, and more
Create your own online league, with all-new drafting, trades, and a single-elimination playoff format
Create your own highlight reel and upload the video to EA SPORTS World to show your passion to the world
Basketball is an unstoppable force and NBA Live 09 is available on these platforms:
Xbox360™
NBA Live 09 JPN US$ 64.90
NBA Live 09 ASIA US$ 44.90
NBA Live 09 US US$ 64.90
PlayStation3™
NBA Live 09 JPN US$ 64.90
NBA Live 09 ASIA US$ 49.90
NBA Live 09 US US$ 64.90
Nintendo Wii™
NBA Live 09 All-Play US US$ 54.90
PlayStation2™
NBA Live 09 JPN US$ 64.90
NBA Live 09 US US$ 44.90
Sony PSP™
NBA Live 09 ASIA US$ 42.90
NBA Live 09 US US$ 44.90
NBA Live 09 JPN US$ 48.90
While the US versions have arrived, the Asian versions will come within this week and the Japanese versions will be recieved within this month.
features
Use weapons to fracture, crater, freeze, or elevate the earth. Raise and lower terrain to provide cover, discover hidden pathways, and mold the war zone to your own advantage
Follow the journey of a patriotic Atlantic Alliance soldier when an act of treason launches him into the battlefield, as forces wage a battle of genetics vs. cybernetics
The last World Wars were fought in Europe, but the next great global war will be fought on American soil
Battle in famous locations across the United States
description
The world is in chaos. After years of neglecting the environment, nature has fought back with devastating effect. Earthquakes, floods and tornadoes have reduced the United States to a mere shadow of its former self, effectively cutting the East and West coasts off from each other. And with division has come dissent. Thousands died and those that survived were forced to adapt to a new way of life. In the East, the path to survival was paved with technology and cybernetic enhancement. In the West, survival of the fittest took on new meaning with stem cell research and genetic modification. These two ideologies and ways of life lead to a division so great that war is the only course of action.
In Fracture™, take on the role of Atlantic Alliance soldier Jet Brody as he goes against the genetically enhanced Pacificans and their fanatical leader General Nathan Sheridan. Unleash the power of terrain-deforming weapons that literally reshape the battlefield before your very eyes, and decimate your enemies with a wide array of weapons with earth-shattering effects.
Reshape the battlefield. Reshape the battle. For the sake of mankind and the future of humanity.
The RGB Cable included high quality cable ,can provide superior picture.Compared with the common RGB cable, this one has a RCA output(yellow),provide another video output model for players. The whole length is 2.5m,making the video device put easily.It is compatible with XB360 series fully,simple to use too.
Eidos has announced that it will release two Xbox 360 exclusive chapters for Tomb Raider Underworld.
According to the press release, the 'Beneath the Ashes' and 'Lara's Shadow' DLC "will deliver two very different single player gameplay experiences" and add "up to six hours of new gameplay and content".
"Tomb Raider: Underworld - Beneath the Ashes takes place after the Underworld story has finished and will feature an incredible new environment to explore, additional secrets to unlock and different enemies to fight.
"Tomb Raider: Underworld - Lara's Shadow will introduce players to a new kind of playable character and create a unique Tomb Raider experience."
Beneath the Ashes will be available for download exclusively on Xbox Live in time for Christmas, while Lara's Shadow will follow "in early 2009".
A demo for Tomb Raider: Underworld will also be available on Xbox Live in October.
In celebration of the economy being so bad these days (sarcasm), we are having a sale. From now until the 15th of October you will get 10% off your order if you use the promo code screwed when checking out on www.Extreme-Mods.com. There is no minimum, just place an order and use the fore mentioned promo code and you will receive the discount. Tell all your friends and family!!
if you dont know extreme mods heres the site info:
We are your friendly one-stop-shop for all video game console personalization & modification hardware and accessories. We stock a full selection of Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii, Sony PSP, Nintendo DS case mods, repair parts and gaming accessories. We offer ultra quick delivery to your door, and extra friendly customer service you can count on. Feel free to drop us a line if you have questions regarding any of our products or services. You can put your faith in us to deliver your products quickly and in perfect condition. We take pride in our ultra high level of customer satisfaction, and you will to. So what are you waiting for? REAL Gamers NEED Extreme-Mods!
Ubisoft has delayed the Xbox 360 VIP demo of Tom Clancy's EndWar again.
The sampler, reserved for pre-orders of the game, was supposed to launch yesterday, but the company appears to be struggling to get the demo onto all regional Xbox Live Marketplaces.
The new estimate is "hours rather than days ", according to the official forums. And Ubisoft is sending out an additional code to VIPs as compensation.
Those not invited will also be given a chance to test EndWar in an open demo, which should arrive around a week before the release date of 7th November.
Aw, and we were just starting to miss our Blu-box graphic ... Sure enough, after several months of peaceful bliss, here we are again on the verge of an Xbox 360 Blu-ray announcement! Or not. Toshiba-Samsung Storage Technology Corp. (not to be confused with plain old "Toshiba Corp.," which is apparently "strictly against Blu-ray") has allegedly been contracted to manufacture an external Blu-ray drive for Xbox 360, reports X-bit labs. The drives are rumored to retail at around $100 to $150 in an attempt to cut into PlayStation 3 sales (combine a $150 drive with the Xbox 360 Arcade, for example, and the total cost would be $350).
X-bit labs speculates Microsoft may launch the external drive this holiday, but with reportedly low sales, Blu-ray could likely wait until a proper CES unveiling. Still, we've got TGS popping off in mere hours and Blu-ray's clock ticking down every day. No time to waste then?
Microsoft has announced Halo 3 Recon with the tagline "new hero, new campaign, prepare to drop fall 2009". The game will include new multiplayer maps and Forge content in addition to, clearly, new single-player content.
According to Xbox.com, it's a "standalone expansion" that "lets you experience events leading up to the epic story told in Halo 3 through the eyes of a new hero in the Halo universe".
"The Halo 3: Recon campaign is an intriguing side story that takes place during the terrifying events leading up to the Master Chief's return to New Mombasa in Halo 3," the announcement says.
"Experience the fate of Earth from the brand-new perspective of a special forces ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper), adding a unique outlook and new gameplay elements to the events that unfold in the trilogy’s finale. While the feel of this new chapter greatly resembles that of previous Halo experiences, Halo 3: Recon will require you to employ more elements of stealth and cunning than ever before."
Revealed during John Schappert's TGS keynote, Recon was trailed by the second part of what Ellie has labelled "the Madeleine trailer", by which she means the Keep It Clean vid.
The new trailer saw shots of buildings, a meteor storm of some sort, dust clouds, "Lumumba 2594" written in the bottom-right of the screen, and then a ship hovering over debris, out of which someone emerged and scoped out a few brutes nearby.
Speaking at today's Microsoft TGS address, it's been revealed that the console's revamped dashboard will be released on November 19. And it'll be released on November 19 worldwide. That's just over a month away, calendar-watchers, so if you have any last words you'd like to say to your trusty old blades dash, now's the time to get them off your chest.
During his keynote at the 2008 Tokyo Game Show, Microsoft's John Schappert announced that beloved fighting franchise Tekken would be making the leap to the Xbox 360 in 2009 with Tekken 6. The Xbox 360 version will feature the Bloodline Rebellion update that recently went live in Japanese arcades, which introduces two new characters, Alisa Boskonovich and Lars Alexanderson. This marks the first time the series has appeared outside of a Sony, and while it isn't an exclusive, Tekken 6 with Xbox Live multiplayer is a major boon for 360 owners around the world. Look for it next fall.
The DCEmu Prize Give Away (Worldwide edition), will be ending on tomorrow, so if you want to get you hands on one of 3 R4 Revolution R4SDHC DS cards or one of 20 runner up discount codes for Colourful-zone.com enter the contest NOW!
With a Total of 23 prizes up for grabs and only 98 entries so far, that currently about 1 out of 4 chance of winning!! What are you waiting for!!
A patch enabling Fable II players to play with another person online over Xbox Live is on track to be released the first day the game is available in stores, according to Lionhead Studios head Peter Molyneux.
On Sept. 26, Microsoft let gamers know the title would not ship with online cooperative play and that the feature would be delivered in the form of an online update later, most likely within a week after the game's launch.
In an interview at the Tokyo Game Show, the Fable II creator told IGN, "I'm almost certain we'll have it for a day-one patch," when asked when gamers can expect the promised feature.
Molyneux said he could not point to one specific problem the development team had during the feature's implementation but rather said it was a matter of getting everything in the game to work smoothly over Xbox Live.
Fable II is scheduled for release on Oct. 21 in the U.S. So if Peter Molyneux gets his way, expect the online patch that day as well.
Microsoft has revealed more sales data during its keynote speech at Tokyo Game Show, revealing that sales of the Xbox 360 system have jumped 62 per cent since the latest round of price cuts.
All three 360 SKUs – Arcade, Premium and Elite – were reduced in price last month, with the Arcade console now the cheapest current gen hardware on the market.
According to John Schappert, corporate vice president of software and services for Xbox, sales of the system in Japan have increased five-fold year-on-year.
He added that sales of software created by Japanese developers for the console were up 60 per cent accounting for USD 811 million, and the company expects that number to grow to USD 1 billion by the end of the year.
"By the end of this holiday, we estimated total worldwide sales of Japanese games will top USD 1 billion on Xbox 360," he told the audience in Tokyo.
There's just over a month until Nuts & Bolts releases on November 14, and here's another sneak peak at how much has changed in the eight years since Banjo-Tooie on N64.
The new video shows another of Nuts & Bolts' worlds, the Terrorium. It looks spooky.
Can Rare still wow us like it did with those standout N64 moments, exploring Treasure Trove Cove in the air and stomping around Mayan temples as a giant gold statue? We're very looking forward to finding out soon.
Once you're done with the new video and screens, check out our recent hands on impressions with the first 30 minutes of the game and our chat with Rare.
John Schappert, the man in charge of Xbox Live, has admitted he's no idea when we'll see the downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto IV.
Last we heard, the DLC - which is exclusive to Xbox 360 - was down to be released "this autumn".
But, well, it's October now. So during a roundtable interview at the Tokyo Game Show, we asked Schappert whether we will indeed see the content this side of Christmas.
"Frankly, I don't know," said the Xbox Live boss. "Rockstar are the people to ask for that."
He went on to add, "I hope as a gamer, just like I'm sure you do as a gamer, the sooner the better. I can't wait for it." Even though, Schappert confirmed, he hasn't had the chance to give it a play as yet.
The corporate vice president of Live software and studios, entertainment and devices division, to give him his full title, delivered a keynote speech at the Tokyo Game Show earlier today. You can read our live text report for the full lowdown, and there's much more from Schappert in the full interview.
As if there weren't enough oddball announcements this morning, Microsoft's gone and unveiled a sequel to its disappointing 2006 hack 'n slasher, Ninety Nine Nights 2.
The follow-up's being developed by Lost Odyssey co-developer Feelplus, and once again overseen by Q Entertainment and game designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi. The original was created by Phantagram.
More polished combat was promised at Microsoft's keynote at the Tokyo Game Show this morning, but other than that we don't really know much about it.
From the artwork Microsoft's released this morning it's looking a lot darker than the first game. We can only hope it's a lot more playable as well.
A few months back, Microsoft stirred the downloadable gaming waters by letting it slip that it was thinking about "de-listing" some under-performing Xbox Live Arcade titles. Essentially, games meeting certain criteria (sluggish sales, poor ratings, etc.) could potentially be removed from the service's browsable index over time.
In an interview at the Tokyo Game Show in Japan this week, Microsoft corporate vice president John Schappert backed away from that perception a bit, saying the information about XBLA de-listing had been taken out of context and that there was no plan to do any such thing.
Instead, Schappert said, Microsoft has simply "set parameters by which we can delist" games and is not moving forward with any particular plan to limit the number of Xbox Live Arcade titles that gamers can browse through and buy on XBLA.
Schappert said Microsoft has no interest in actually de-listing titles unless the amount of content becomes "cumbersome" on Xbox Live.
"We have no immediate plans to act on de-listing," he said.
In fact, Schappert suggested that the pending release of the Xbox Live Dashboard overhaul would make de-listing titles unnecessary, as the improvements to the service include better sorting options that should make wading through XBLA title data easier and more intuitive.
When asked if a text-based search function will be built into the Dashboard in the future, Schappert stopped short of confirming it was in the works, but he noted that Microsoft is continuing to look at the option and said the company has "plans well into next year" for expanding on the new Dashboard.
It's no surprise that The New Xbox Experience will squeeze within a memory card—Microsoft wants to make the software upgrade fit on removable flash storage for Xbox 360 Arcade users who lack hard drives. But the company has made it clear that Arcade users looking to upgrade will need a 256MB storage card, not the smaller 64MB model. So in other words, not every user will find themselves able to make the upgrade free. But this sort of situation is exactly why you shouldn't buy a 360 without a hard drive.
Welcome to this week's Games Update, our weekly summary featuring all new product arrivals from the last seven days.
Basketball is one of the most exciting sports to participate in, and doubtlessly most people have played in matches either in gym class or under more official circumstances. For those who excelled in the sport, try your hand at it in the cyberworld, get a feel of what being inside the league is like via NBA 09: The Inside.
For those who are less fond of the sport, you might change your mind after playing a game or two in NBA 2K9 or NBA Live 09 in your own private quarters, without the stress of being under the critical gaze of teachers and other spectators.
Although quite a number of basketball games came out this week, they are by no means the majority of the releases, so for those who have preferences for other genres, please rest assured as there is definitely something to cater to your tastes.
Get involved in inter-galactic action in Macross Ace Frontier on your Sony PSP™. With 40 mechs to pilot and 30 player characters to choose from, build up your CV as an invincible pilot as you complete various missions set out for you throughout the history of Macross. You can even enlist the help of your friends when you get into trouble.
Master a range of hi-tech weaponry in Fracture, where the United States are no longer united. Due to environmental disasters, the east and west of the States are separated from each other. Dissent over the other end's mode of survival arise and war ensues. See if the war will bring an end to the difference between people or will it amplify it?
Everthing has to be fast, action, wits, strategy and combat with Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. Banding together with his friends, Sonic is off to save the world again from a menace that is tearing the world apart and destroying it bit by bit. Gather another three of your friends and prevent the world from suffering the same fate as in Fracture.
After you are done blowing the world up and saving it from total destruction, its time to shake it. Step into the shoes and smelly skin of Mario's alter ego Wario who always ended up doing something good with evil intentions. Find treasure, defeat enemies and save people from deprivation in Wario Land: Shake.
Appearance can be decieving, the pink, round, soft Kirby is a match against King Dedede the huge penguine and Meta Knight the winged sword wielder. Make use of the local Wi-Fi connection to have a Kirby: Super Star Ultra adventure with a friend and DS download to enjoy the mini games with 3 more selected friends.
Aside from all the adventures and action, enjoy what the world can offer in a more peaceful sort of way. Tour the land, namely Japan and appreciate the services and comforts provided to you by the ladies of the railroad industry in Tetsudou Musume [Standard & Limited Edition].
While you are on the trains, take a break from admiring the railroad ladies, whip out your Sony PSP and continue your counter crusade against the Goddess of Judgement in Valhalla Knights 2. The goddess has woken up after eons of enchanted sleep, its time for you to become a hero and act against her.
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™
Fracture US US$ 64.90
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock JPN US$ 64.90
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith JPN US$ 64.90
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Bundle JPN US$ 129.90
NBA 2K9 ASIA US$ 54.90
NBA Live 09 US US$ 64.90
Rock Band 2 Wireless Guitar US US$ 89.90
Silent Hill: Homecoming US US$ 64.90
PlayStation3™
Cabela's Dangerous Hunts '09 US US$ 44.90
Fracture US US$ 64.90
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock JPN US$ 64.90
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith JPN US$ 64.90
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Bundle JPN US$ 129.90
NBA 09: The Inside ASIA US$ 59.90
NBA 09: The Inside US US$ 64.90
NBA Live 09 US US$ 64.90
Silent Hill: Homecoming US US$ 64.90
Nintendo Wii™
NBA Live 09 All-Play US US$ 54.90
Star Wars The Force Unleashed JPN US$ 59.90
Wario Land: Shake It! US US$ 54.90
We Cheer US US$ 44.90
PlayStation2™
Cabela's Dangerous Hunts '09 US US$ 34.90
Daito Giken Koushiki Pachi-Slot Simulator: 24 - Twenty-Four JPN US$ 49.90
Dragon Ball Z Trilogy US US$ 34.90
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock JPN US$ 64.90
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith JPN US$ 59.90
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Bundle JPN US$ 129.90
Infinity Plus [Limited Edition] JPN US$ 95.00
Kamiyo Gakuen Makorouku Kurunugia JPN US$ 64.90
Memories Off Duet - 1st & 2nd stories (Love Game Selection) JPN US$ 19.90
Memories Off Sorekara (Love Game Selection) JPN US$ 19.90
NBA 09: The Inside US US$ 34.90
NBA Live 09 US US$ 44.90
Omoide ni Kawaru-Kimi: Memories Off (Love Game Selection) JPN US$ 19.90
Pipe Mania US US$ 24.90
Star Wars The Force Unleashed JPN US$ 59.90
Will O' Wisp: Easter no Kiseki JPN US$ 49.90
Will O' Wisp: Easter no Kiseki [Twin Pack] JPN US$ 89.90
Nintendo DS™
Brain Quest Grades 5 & 6 US US$ 34.90
Family Tool Attach Case JPN US$ 18.90
Hi! Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Challenge US US$ 34.90
Kawaii Koinu DS2 JPN US$ 48.90
Kirby: Super Star Ultra US US$ 39.90
Margot's Word Brain US US$ 24.90
Nihongo de Asobo DS JPN US$ 48.90
Pipe Mania US US$ 24.90
Pop Cutie! Street Fashion Simulation US US$ 34.90
Snoopy DS: Snoopy to Chuugen Taichi ni Ei ni Iku! JPN US$ 48.90
Sonic Chronicles: Dark Brotherhood US US$ 39.90
Tetsudou Kentei DS JPN US$ 48.90
Tetsudou Musume DS: Terminal Memory JPN US$ 48.90
Tetsudou Musume DS: Terminal Memory [Limited Edition] JPN US$ 74.90
Unsolved Crimes US US$ 34.90
Sony PSP™
Macross Ace Frontier JPN US$ 48.90
Mahjong Haoh Portable: Jansou Battle (Mycom Best) JPN US$ 19.90
NBA 09: The Inside US US$ 34.90
NBA 09: The Inside ASIA US$ 29.90
NBA Live 09 US US$ 44.90
Pipe Mania US US$ 24.90
Umewaza Ykari no Yasashi Igo JPN US$ 48.90
Valhalla Knights 2 US US$ 34.90
PC Games
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (DVD-ROM) ASIA US$ 39.90
Kings Bounty: The Legend US US$ 44.90
Pipe Mania ASIA US$ 29.90
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition US US$ 54.90
Game Guides and Magazines
Araara no Tanpen Koushiki Handbook JPN US$ 17.90
Hyper Hobby [November 2008] JPN US$ 16.90
Infinite Undiscovery Official Complete Guide JPN US$ 32.90
Infinite Undiscovery Signature Series Guide US US$ 19.90
Persona 4 Official Setting And Painting Collection JPN US$ 26.90
Pokemon Platinum Official Perfect Guide Book JPN US$ 18.90
Silent Hill: Homecoming Signature Series Guide US US$ 19.90
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood: Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 19.90
Weekly Famitsu No. 1035 (2008 10/17) JPN US$ 7.90
Video Game Soundtracks
Harukanaru Toki No Naka De Yumeukihashi - Kumo Tsumugi JPN US$ 29.90
Infinite Undiscovery Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 28.90
Oretachi Ni Tsubasa Ha Nai Drama Series Vol.3 Hiyoko Tamaizumi JPN US$ 20.90
Rockman 9 Arrange Album JPN US$ 28.90
Sekaiju no Meikyuu Piano To Gengakki No Namaensou Ni Yoru JPN US$ 29.90
Side Girls Complete Disc (D.C.Girls Symphony) JPN US$ 28.90
Here is a preview of the very hot games that are coming out next week
Xbox360™
Dead Space US US$ 64.90
Dead Space ASIA US$ 49.90
FIFA Soccer 09 US US$ 64.90
FIFA Soccer 09 ASIA US$ 44.90
PlayStation3™
Dead Space ASIA US$ 49.90
Dead Space US US$ 64.90
FIFA Soccer 09 US US$ 64.90
FIFA Soccer 09 ASIA US$ 49.90
NBA 2K9 ASIA US$ 59.90
NBA 2K9 US US$ 64.90
Nintendo Wii™
Wii Music JPN US$ 59.90
PlayStation2™
Mobile Suit Gundam 00: Gundam Meisters JPN US$ 64.90
Sony PSP™ FIFA Soccer 09 ASIA US$ 42.90
FIFA Soccer 09 US US$ 44.90
Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikida Or 2 JPN US$ 39.90
Is Japan's video game industry recessionproof? With stock markets swinging as violently as a fantasy warrior's sword, it's a significant question.
According to data collected by Enterbrain, the publisher of Famitsu magazine, combined sales of video game hardware and software for the first half of 2008 fell to just 78.7 percent of the level for the first half of 2007, dropping from 3.03 billion yen to 2.39 billion yen.
Year-on-year, hardware sales dropped to 66.5 percent of previous levels, while software didn't fare quite as badly, dropping to 89.7 percent.
The figures were presented by Hirokazu Hamamura, Enterbrain's president and Famitsu's executive editor, at a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan in Tokyo on Tuesday. Hamamura shared the podium with another industry expert, Hiroshi Kamide, director of the research department of KBC Securities Japan.
"The software situation in Japan is not so bad," Hamamura said, pointing to four games--Mario Kart Wii, Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, Pocket Monster Platinum, and Dragon Quest V--that have sold more than 1 million copies each so far this year, compared to eight to hit that mark in all of last year.
With Wii Music and other highly anticipated titles still to come in 2008, "this half is going to be very good for software," he said.
Hamamura said that thanks to the popularity of Monster Hunter, "PSP [PlayStation Portable game hardware] sales in Japan took off dramatically."
"I think the phenomenon is very similar to what happened with Game Boy many many years ago...I think Game Boy had almost died out at that time, and Pocket Monster basically rescued this hardware. I think it's similar to what's happening with Monster Hunter and PSPs," Hamamura said.
He said the game, played through a network by four people, often in separate locations, is "the beginning of a new trend." Another of the year's top games is the multiplayer Phantasy Star Portable, which sold 606,480 copies in the first half, about triple the number expected. Hamamura attributed this to Monster Hunter having changed the gaming environment.
Despite such success stories, Kamide said the 100-day trend in software sales in Japan has been angling downward for the last year and a half.
"I do believe we are in a global recession at the moment, and the gaming industry does like to have a tag that it's recessionproof," Kamide said. "I think there's two ways of looking at this. Yes, obviously Christmas comes every year and hence the need to buy the next Pocket Monster...The other way of looking at it is, if people can't afford to buy Starbucks coffees anymore, are they really going to go and buy the next Brain Training game?"
Kamide said the industry's recent emphasis on casual gaming is changing. "I think now there's going to be a return to core games...as a lot of companies in the industry realize that core gaming is resilient, [while] casual gaming is actually seeing a slowdown in Japan."
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced a strong opening to its FIFA Soccer 09 season. More than 1.2 million copies of the critically-acclaimed game were sold through in its first week on shelves at European retail, making it the fastest start in the history of the award-winning franchise.
"FIFA Soccer 09's great kick-off is a testament to our loyal fans across Europe who simply can't wait to get their hands on the game," said Peter Moore, President of EA Sports. "FIFA Soccer 09 is EA's best soccer offering to date featuring game modes such as Be A Pro: Seasons, 10 vs. 10 Online Team Play, FIFA 09 "Clubs" and the adidas Live Season service*. This is our fastest selling FIFA game of all time and it's rewarding to see the game so high on the list of must-have titles this holiday."
FIFA Soccer 09 launches in North America and Asia on October 14, 2008. It will be available on Wii and Nintendo DS in North America on October 28, 2008.
This year FIFA Soccer 09 delivers unique, platform specific experiences that take advantage of the hardware specifications of each available platform -- the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360, Wii, PC, PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo DS, PSP (PlayStation Portable) system and mobile.
Developed in Burnaby, B.C., by EA Canada, FIFA Soccer 09 is localized into 17 languages and sold in 37 countries -- it is the most popular EA Sports franchise globally. FIFA Soccer 09 is rated "E" for everyone by ESRB and 3+ by PEGI.
Microsoft has fired yet another salvo in the battle for casual cred, including free, family-friendly titles with every Xbox 360 purchased this holiday season. Beginning some time this month, those who purchase the $199 "Arcade Holiday Bundle" will get SEGA Superstars Tennis and five unidentified XBLA games. Or, pick up the the Xbox 360 ($299) or Xbox 360 Elite ($399) Holiday Bundles and get LEGO Indiana Jones and Kung Fu Panda gratis.
I got in touch with Microsoft to ask about the Blu Ray add on rumours from yesterday, here’s what they had to say:
“As we’ve said before, Microsoft has no plans to introduce an Xbox 360 Blu-ray add-on. Games are what drive consumers to purchase game consoles, and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster games available.”
UK gamers will need to get up early in the morning if they are to take advantage of heavily-discounted consoles at several supermarket chains. So impressive were the price cuts that a number of games retailers have been dispatching staff to their local Sainsbury's to pick up some new stock.
Sainsbury's has been knocking £30 from the price of the Xbox 360 and Wii, bringing the 360 to below £100 for the first time. Staff from GAME, Gamestation and other retailers, both chain store and indie, quickly descended on the bargains and re-upped their own stocks.
“With 360 and Wii on sale at these prices we allowed our store managers to supplement their stock,” explained GAME CEO Lisa Morgan.
Shame the gamers didn't get to enjoy the same benefits, really.
Well, what can I say this time, other than the usual round of console sales figures in Japan for last week? Crashmania prehaps? Seems to be the case for the ongoing fall of sales for the region, with the details obtained from Media Create below:
Nintendo DS Lite: 42,385
Playstation Portable: 26,045
Nintendo Wii: 25,330
Playstation 2: 8,618
Xbox 360 : 8,271
Playstation 3: 7,232
Rough figures as usual, DS lite still tops the list, suffers a 15,500 unit drop. PSP comes back to second place, actually up by 400. Wii is 3rd, down 1,000. PS2 overtakes the Xbox 360, down 800 while the latter is down about 3,000. Last in line is the PS3, down 1,000 as well.
Code of Bethesda's highly-anticipated follow-up to Oblivion, Fallout 3, has already been leaked onto the internet and is available on various torrent sites.
The official game isn't due for release until October 28 in the US and October 31 in Europe, but the Xbox 360 version of the game has been hacked and at the time of writing had well over 2000 people downloading the 6.52GB file on one site alone.
The hacked version of the game would only be playable on an illegally modified Xbox 360.
Although a majority of console and PC games are leaked online before the official release, for a game to be distributed illegally three weeks before it hits the shops highlights the demand for pirated material from users - and the holes in security measures designed to prevent illegal copying of games.
The latest instalment in Square Enix's Star Ocean series, The Last Hope, will be released on Xbox 360 in Europe next year, the company has confirmed.
The new instalment - the first to release on an Xbox platform - is actually a prequel set in the aftermath of World War III, as humanity voyages into the stars in search of a new home world.
It's being developed by Tri-Ace and promises to bring Star Ocean's real-time battle system bang up to date. Stat fans are going to love this.
"STAR OCEAN has already proved to be a popular series in Japan, we now hope that players around the world can discover why," Square Enix president John Yamamoto said at the Tokyo Game Show.
Last Hope will be fully localised for PAL territories with French, German, Spanish and Italian subtitles, says SE.
We've got 16 screenshots of Far Cry 2, fresh out of Ubisoft from the Tokyo Game Show.
PC Gamer gave Ubisoft's Far Cry 2 a 9.4/10, while the game grabbed a thumbs-up from both the Official PlayStation Magazine and the Xbox 360 Official Magazine, scoring 9/10 in both publications.
All the more reason to drool longingly at these latest screens then ahead of the game's release in just under two weeks.
Sony's president of Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida, has said that he wants Microsoft's Xbox 360 to succeed in Japan in order to help push the concepts of high-definition gaming to local consumers.
With Nintendo's Wii the most popular console in the Japanese market, Yoshida would like both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 to sell well in order to convince punters of a more sophisticated take on next-generation gaming.
"I like to see people here in Japan showing interest in high-definition gaming and more sophisticated gaming experiences," offered Yoshida, in an interview with our sister site Eurogamer.net.
"In terms of realistic-looking graphics and smarter AI, they haven't really shown the appetite for what this generation of gaming can offer. I'd really like to see both PS3 and 360 succeed here."
"What Microsoft is offering and what we are offering are closer, compared to what other platforms are offering. Because of that commonality, the new games coming out on 360 and PS3 help to get consumers more interested in this generation of gaming," he added.
Both consoles are currently being trounced in Japan by Nintendo's Wii. And although the Xbox 360 has been outselling PS3 in recent weeks, Yoshida sees the success as short-lived.
"Quite honestly, the real number being sold - we haven't seen real acceptance of the platform here in the Japanese market. The Nintendo Wii is still by far the biggest platform in Japan," he said.
And still on the subject of Microsoft, Yoshida admitted he's impressed with the New Xbox Experience, prefering the style of the avatars over Nintendo's Miis.
"I think it's quite nice. I like the avatar designs they're working on. Personally, Microsoft's work is closer to my personal preference. The Miis are very nice, but everybody looks cute, like Japanese-style characters," he said.
The full interview with Shuhei Yoshida, where he discusses the release of Home, forthcoming PS3 titles and the success of PSP, can be read here.
Microsoft has denied that an external Blu-ray drive for Xbox 360 is in the works.
"As we've said before, Microsoft has no plans to introduce an Xbox 360 Blu-ray add-on. Games are what drive consumers to purchase game consoles, and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster games available," Microsoft told Edge Online in a thinly veiled swipe at the competition (presumably having temporarily forgotten about its price cuts, Avatars, movie downloads, music festivals, theme packs and all the other things it does which aren't games).
Reports surfaced earlier this week claiming Microsoft had already commissioned the manufacture of the hardware with Toshiba-Samsung. The rumoured price was to be between USD 100 and USD 150.
But speculation of internal or external Blu-ray drives for Xbox 360 has been rife since the death of the HD-DVD format earlier this year. And Microsoft has consistently swatted them down, maintaining that digital distribution will be the real future.
Finally we can publish the winners of the very first Scenery Beta. There has been a lot of good Homebrew over our 4 communities (PSP, NDS, Wii and PC), a nice fair play and the feedback of hundreds of user who have been voting and posting in order to improve all the works. Here it is, the final list with all the winners. Congratulations.
We remember you the awards, described in the Scenery Beta 2008 Rules:
1st place: 150€ + Pendrive 2GB
2nd place: 100€ + Pendrive 2GB
3rd place: 50€ + Pendrive 2GB
4th place: Pendrive 2GB
5th place: Pendrive 2GB
We will also give a 2GB Pendrive to those Homebrew which have been presented to the off-contest section, to try to encourage those coders to finalize their projects.
The organization is very happy with the Scenery Beta, so there will be a 2009 edition. Prepare your consoles.
We also want to thank you all the users, Staff Members and specially coders, this little homage wouldnt be possible without them.
Long live the Scene!!!
I give you link to the final results article. We have already send the cash prizes, and we want to inform all the winners that the pendrives will be sent along this month.
XCM Wireless controller shell for Xbox 360 not only change the style of your pad, but comes with extra features such as special buttons lightning and an improved D-pad for better directionnal control.
Besides just looking a lot snazzier, the New Xbox Experience uses a whole new foundation that's server-based rather than sitting on your hard drive, so it's easy for Microsoft to add on features and apps. One possibility is basically movie parties—you and your friends could all watch Indiana Jones on Netflix at the same time—or more likely, photo sharing.
All Microsoft has to do is "build that app, drop it in, party enable it and we’re good to go" says Xbox senior strategist Rob Gruhl. So while the movie party feature isn't specifically planned on, since "those types of things are certainly the aspiration," according to Xbox marketing head Albert Penello and they've discussed photo sharing, it looks like we can definitely expect to see some social app action like that in the future.
Ars Technica did an in-depth investigation into the numbers behind the war against piracy and found that Congress might as well be telling people counterfeit goods cost the economy eleventy billion zillion, for all the truth behind its figures. The oft invoked $250 billion and 750,000 jobs lost because of intellectual property theft have been repeated for over a decade, with virtually no research to back it up.
It's not just industry groups like the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition that's quoting them either. Everyone from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to the Patent and Trademark Office to the FBI will repeat the same numbers back at you, pointing evasively to each other when asked which body funded the extensive economic analysis needed to arrive at such figures.
Ars pointed out that, even without looking for their sources, the numbers don't make much sense. 750,000 would mean 8% of all unemployed people in the U.S. lost their jobs to counterfeiting. $250 billion is more than the combined 2005 domestic revenues of the movie, music, software and video game industries. Yet policies are made from this information every day.
Here at Kotaku Towers Shibuya, we'll be playing just about anything with an English language menu. Tomorrow morning, which is Saturday, Japan Time, we'll be sprinting to the Resident Evil 5 and Street Fighter IV stations at Capcom's booth. After about 10:01 AM on the public days of Tokyo Game Show, expect to stand in line for at least 45 minutes to play anything. Even Gardening Mama will have a wait.
With Otomedius Gorgeous, Let's Tap and Space Puzzle Bobble already played, what else is there, really? What you're playing this weekend, of course. Let us know in the comments!
These four days, from Thursday, October 9th to Sunday, October 12th are the highlight of the year for many people as Tokyo Game Show 2008, one of the biggest gaming events in the world, is launched.
The four day period provides a small reverie to everyone suffering under the plunging stock market and the force of the credit crunch. Games are about dreams, the leading developers of the industry say, and the attendants are certainly enjoying this little paradise.
No Earth shattering news is announced, everyone is a little wary, if not completely tired of those and are ready to take delights in small spoonfuls. These small spoonfuls, of course, come in the form of games and related products, be they large scale RPGs or music/puzzle games for casual gamers, everyone is glad for these distractions.
Leaving the gloom outside the gateway of the great halls, let's see what fun the developers are bringing us this year. Since handheld devices are in vogue, a majority of the games announced are on them.
Sega announced an array of games such as Phantasy Star Zero for Nintendo DS™ and Koei featured their famous Musou game launches on Sony PSP™ such as Maou Sairin and Shin Sangokushi Musou Multi-Raid.
Nintendo Wii™ gets new action and sports games such as Naruto Fighters and GI Jockey while the third generation consoles are ready for cross platform sensational games such as Resident Evil 5. Halo 3 and Star Ocean 4 are launching on Xbox360™ while the highly anticipated Final Fantasy XIII are coming out on PlayStation3™.
Besides games, products such as figures and even jewelry get their spotlight as you can see on the large catalogue placed in Square Enix's stall.
Last, but definitely not least, are the mood makers of the event. Without them, game shows will definitely be less lively and appealing, they are the booth babes and cosplayers.
Enough talk, as pictures are worth a thousand words, to do the event justice, we will give you a tour around the grounds via our picture galleries:
features
Platform: Playstation 3, Xbox 360
This strategy guide features a comprehensive walkthrough of the entire battle
Detailed area maps
In-depth item and equipment listing
Extensive bestiary
Game secrets uncovered!
features
Secrets\Collectables: Learn the locations of all hidden collectables and all secret "mutant-only" areas.
Achievements: Detailed strategies for obtaining every Xbox 360 achievement.
The Fast Track: Fastest 100% completion secrets.
Maps: Labeled maps of the entire Crash Bandicoot universe!
Platform: Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation3, PlayStation2, Nintendo DS
Mr Modchips the main UK Modchips and Console Modifications/Repairs store has today reopened after a year of being shut down, those who remember will know that Mr Modchips somehow won a court case against them selling Modchips in the UK.
Anyway Mr Modchips sell a massive range of parts and mods and modchips for all these consoles:
PSP
PS2
PS3
Xbox
Xbox 360
Gamecube
GBA
Nintendo DS
Nintendo Wii
On the site they have stated that they will be adding new items all the time so good news for those who liked this shop from before.
Just as the banking markets are in tatters the whole world seems to be plumetting towards a very real recession, i cant speak for other countries but the very high price of fuel which has come down lately but still exceedingly high coupled with every single thing taxed in every area of life and the rather dangerous costs of Gas and Electric which have seemingly tripled.
Add all these together and the very low if any pay rises and its no wonder that people around the world are struggling and that everywhere a massive downturn in sales is inevitable.
Has the Credit Slump Hit you and Your familys ?, i personally foresee that no one hasnt been affected and if anyones to blame who in your eyes is to blame ?
For the first two and a half years of the Xbox 360's lifespan, owners eagerly looked forward to regular "spring" and "fall" updates, packing more functionality into their consoles through (what Microsoft marketing would later call) the "magic of software." With the absence of a spring update this year and the subsequent announcement of the New Xbox Experience we wanted to know if Microsoft would return to the biannual updates ...
So we asked John Schappert during our sitdown earlier this week in Tokyo. He said, "I don't know if we're going to tie ourselves to a spring fall release schedule" and continued, "I like staying focused on bigger, more impactful releases ... maybe it'll be twice a year, maybe less frequently, to-be-determined." Speaking of what those future updates could consist of, Schappert said that Microsoft is asking itself, "What's the next big launch? What do we bring? When can we bring it? And how can we do it in a big way?"
The NXE is certainly a bigger, more impactful release. We're assuming, however, that Microsoft doesn't plan on reinventing the wheel every couple years in which case what "big" functionality should we expect in future Dashboard updates, regardless of when they're released? No, really, we're asking you.
A bunch of Church and charity leaders gather around a table to discuss video games and their impact on society - surely a recipe for military-grade Moral Outrage, no?
Well, no, actually. To interrupt your scheduled grumblings about know-nothing moral guardians and anti-games cliches I bring news that several figures from Church of England groups and charities met at a round table chat organised by the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) and came to the conclusion that this gaming lark might actually have something positive to contribute to society.
Mike Royal, national director of the Lighthouse Group said that games can encourage children to talk about 'boundaries' and what behavior is good and acceptable, not only in gaming but other aspects of their lives.
Up next - Jack Thompson "really getting in to Tales of Vesperia".
Despite what that affront-to-mankind-in-motion-picture-form, Spider-Man 3, may have tried to make you believe, merging with a dreaded symbote doesn't turn you into a mopey jerk with an unfashionable haircut and nightmarish dance moves. We feel that the upcoming Activision web-slinging simulator, Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, depicts a much more accurate account of the side-effects of fusion with tar-like alien lifeforms: A widening of the eyes, an elongation of the teeth, and tendrils -- oh, so very many tendrils.
The launch trailer for the aforementioned title, posted above, gives us a good sampling of the symbiotic adversaries we'll be pummeling come Web of Shadows' October 21 release date -- and with a classy touch of Moonlight Sonata to boot. We highly suggest checking it out -- perhaps you'll find some place in your heart that hasn't eternally sworn off games featuring the titular, charismatic wall-crawler.
Bash left the TUD Giraffe in my care this weekend, so I'll close out my shift by asking the juicy question. Here's one for a good discussion: What's the lamest game, or game-related, gift you've ever received? Reaching back, I'm well past the get-gifts-as-games age, although my brother one year gave me a gift certificate to GameFly and then we realized it was only good for paying for a subscription, not used games, so that sucked. But I'm sure there's plenty of you out there with aunts or grandmas who gave you bargain-bin dreck that was camo-marketed to look like that latest game all the kids want. Or, worse, someone knitted you a "World's Biggest Super Mario Fan" sweater and you had to wear it whenever they visited. Anyway, tell us, dammit, in the comments.
Well, here we go again. Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg, talking to slightly-interest party Major Nelson, says he's never seen such a "tremendous shift" in developer loyalty, and he means from Sony and to Microsoft. Guess we couldn't expect him to keep from smack talking after the Tekken 6 news earlier this week.
"We've come a long way... Square Enix's biggest RPG franchises, Namco Bandai bringing their top titles including Tekken 6. A lot of great arcade titles that the Japanese publishers continue to really recreate for this whole new generation, and we're finally at a price the world can afford."
There are plenty of new features coming with the New Xbox Experience when it launches on November 19, but one that won't be included is the ability to share movies and photos with your friends online. But according to Xbox director of marketing Albert Penello, that's a feature that could easily be added in the future thanks to the soon-to-be revamped structure of the Xbox dashboard.
When asked by MTV Multiplayer (via Joystiq) whether the ability to have online movie parties -- perhaps by sharing streaming Netflix movies with other friends who are also Netflix members -- would eventually be added to the service, Penello simply answered, "Yes. Those types of things are certainly the aspiration."
One major change the new Xbox dashboard is bringing is that it'll make the service entirely server-based. This means it'll be far easier for Microsoft to add these types of new features in the future, as they can be plugged in without having to issue a new patch.
"You know, we talked about photo sharing," said Xbox senior strategist Rob Gruhl. "That's something that, hey, if we want to do photo sharing, we just build that app, drop it in, party enable it and we're good to go. If we wanted to do movie sharing, build an app, party enable it, drop it in. Really, it's [the new dashboard] just laying the foundation for our next wave, our next step. Continuing to fill it out, continuing to build it."
Makes you wonder what other sort of features Microsoft may have planned for the future...
features
Beast riding and combat: Command an array of deadly and magical beasts as you cut down your enemies
Brutal melee action: Wield sword and axe as you unleash barbaric killing moves and dismembering attacks
Spells and magic weapons: Upgrade your weaponry and unlock powerful element-based spells and magic
Harsh and desolate landscapes: Explore and survive a ravaged and ancient world composed of distinct looking destructible environments
Classic Golden Axe legacy: Play as the young warrior Tyris Flare in a magical world of beasts, encounter familiar friends and enemies, and collect power-ups from the pesky gnomes in this re-imagined SEGA classic
description
One of SEGA's most popular franchises storms onto the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system with Golden Axe: Beast Rider™. As the unstoppable Tyris Flare, engage in vicious melee combat both on foot and atop massive mythical beasts, savaging enemies with blades and magic on a quest for vengeance.
Microsoft will offer "storage solutions" to Xbox 360 Arcade owners and those with no Hard Drive space to install the New Xbox Experience update.
The dashboard revamp, which has just been dated for November 19, requires a minimum of 128MB of free storage space - or at least a 256MB memory card.
So Arcade users and those with 64MB cards are basically buggered, but according to Major Nelson Microsoft will come to the rescue...
"While we expect the majority of consumers to download the New Xbox Experience without a problem, a small percentage of Xbox 360 owners do not have enough memory to accommodate the update," Microsoft's mouth told the X360 Fanboy blog.
"To help ensure all Xbox Live members are able to download the New Xbox Experience and enjoy its new features, Microsoft will be offering storage solutions to the Xbox Live community. We are not sharing details of this offering yet. Be sure to check xbox.com for more details in the coming weeks."
Common sense suggests some sort of memory card mailing promotion then, unless the Major's going to come over your house and help clear out downloaded gamerpics and themes.
NXE adds a completely redesigned menu system, Avatars, the ability to install games to your HDD and more. Have a look at it over here.
Microsoft is suing DHL for allegedly breaking 21,600 Xbox 360s in a train derailment in Texas. That's right, Microsoft is suing someone else for breaking Xbox 360s.
According to an IDG News Service report, the consoles were on their way to Flextronics in Hong Kong.
And according to court documents posted by a Seattle newspaper, when the train went off the tracks a bit the poor old consoles suffered "impact damage, wetting, pilfering and shortage". Sniff.
Microsoft said DHL had refused to compensate it for the loss, which it values at USD 2 million. DHL apparently hasn't said anything.
Mötley Crüe's Dr. Feelgood has become the sixth album to join the Rock Band Music Store catalogue of downloadable content. Or it does from tomorrow.
Trivia fans might like to know that Mötley Crüe topped the charts for the first time with the release of Dr. Feelgood in 1989 and has since sold more than six million copies in the US alone. We liked it too.
Dr. Feelgood will be available for $15.99 (1280 Microsoft Points) for the album, or $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points) per track.
features
Tactical Melee Action - Take part in battle alongside your servants and destroy your enemies!
Over Fifty Servants at Your Disposal - Engage in dynamic battles by balancing resources and deploying troops to turn the tide of battle!
Dual Language - Experience the thrilling continuation of the Guilty Gear saga with fully voiced dialogue!
Multiplayer Deathmatch - Team battle or Free-for-all, test your mettle on Xbox Live with up to four players!
Refined Mechanics - Enjoy new items, skills, tweaks, and additional modes not seen in the original import!
description
In the far future, humanity succeeded in developing an endless energy called the divine power. But although they were able to obtain wisdom, mankind could not cast aside their foolishness. Tension among the major powers led to the creation of biological weapons that were based on that power - Gears.
Justice, the only Gear able to command the legions of biological weapons, went berserk and declared war on all of humanity. That was the beginning of the worst war in history - The Crusades.
In response, mankind formed an order of elite knights, and with their participation, Justice was defeated. With her fall, all Gears ceased to function and entered a dormant state. The long-lasted Crusades came to an end, and it seemed like mankind restored peace.
In Crash's latest adventure, the villainous Cortex has teamed up with N.Brio and created a monstrous mind controlling device that has taken over all the bandicoots and mutants on Wumpa Island. Crash sets out to stop the madness by destroying Cortex's evil device using his quick wits, lightening agility, and the hijacked mutant in his pocket!
There's yet to be any official confirmation that the upcoming Diablo 3 will be released on anything other than the PC, but according to recent comments made by Blizzard president Mike Morhaime, it certainly seems like they're strongly considering console versions of the highly anticipated sequel at some point in the future.
"Every game we have the discussion about which platforms make the most sense," said Morhaime in an interview with Shacknews at BlizzCon. "As Diablo 3 takes shape, I think we'll do an evaluation. I think there is a pretty good argument to be made that that type of game might work very well on consoles. There might be some technical limitations though that we might need to get past."
Backing up Morhaime's comments were those made by Diablo 3 director Jay Wilson, who also thinks console versions of Diablo 3 could work well. "We haven't really decided to take the [console] plunge," Wilson said. "We've really come to the conclusion that [Diablo 3] is probably the best fit because the control scheme is actually not that incompatible. So if we were to make that decision, Diablo would be the natural choice."
What Blizzard won't do, however, is do a quick and dirty port. "If we did it, we would want to do a really high quality version -- we wouldn't just want to do a port," Wilson said. "We would never make that decision if we thought we had to compromise the overall quality...we could probably do it at any time, we could release the game and then decide we wanted to do an Xbox 360 version or a PlayStation 3 version."
Seeing a console version of Diablo 3 down the line wouldn't be unprecedented -- the original Diablo eventually received a port on the PlayStation, and there have been countless action RPGs in the Diablo mold released on consoles as well (Phantasy Star Online comes to mind). And that was back in the Dark Ages when online gameplay on consoles was mostly unheard of.
EA’s FIFA 09 holds onto the No.1 position in this week's ELSPA/Chart-Track’s official UK All Formats Top 40 – despite sales being down 47 per cent.
The football title – which has been garnering exceptional reviews – holds off the stern challenge of Lego Batman, which takes second spot in its debut week.
Lego Batman is Warner’s biggest ever video game launch, released across all 7 major formats with 22 per cent of sales on Xbox 360, 22 per cent on budget PS2, 20 per cent on Wii, 17 per cent on PS3, 12 per cent on DS, six per cent on PSP and one per cent on PC.
There are seven different publishers represented in this week’s All Formats Top 10, with four titles selling best on Xbox 360, and the remaining six top sellers on Wii.
Wii Fit steps up one place to No. 3, bouncing back after last week’s dip in stock, while Star Wars: The Force Unleashed slips two places to No.4.
Ubisoft also drops two places as Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway falls to No.5.
Performance of the week goes to Atari’s Family Trainer, which climbs from No.2- to No.9.
The full All Formats Top 20 for the week ending OCtober 11th reads:
1) FIFA 09 – EA
2) Lego Batman – Warner Bros
3) Wii Fit – Nintendo
4) Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – LucasArts
5) Brothers In Arms – Ubisoft
6) Mario Kart Wii – Nintendo
7) Wii Play – Nintendo
8) Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 – EA
9) Family Trainer – Atari
10) Big Beach Sports – THQ
Ah, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board website, a wellspring of information on upcoming, yet-to-be-announced titles. Titles like Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, which has recently had two new consoles added to its listing. Joining the PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox are the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, which would seem to indicate that the title will be coming to Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network. Of course just because the ESRB rated the game doesn't mean it's a sure thing, but further proof has appeared in the NeoGAF forum thread concerning the rating showing Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 on Microsoft's PartnerNet, the closed version of Xbox Live used on development units.
If Capcom can manage to get stable online multiplayer working with Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 and deliver it to PSN and Xbox Live Arcade, I will never ask for another 2D fighting game again. I promise.
Ubisoft has popped a demo of Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway on Xbox Live Marketplace.
The sampler parachutes in at 1.32GB, and offers up an early portion of the tactical World War II shooter to get to grips with.
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway is already out to buy, of course, but with a score of 7/10 is exactly the type of game - we like to think - that demos are useful for.
Or you could read our Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway review.
360 Connectivity Kit V3 Pro http://www.mrmodchips.co.uk/catalog/...&w=115&h= 115
The more advance Pro version of the V3 team Xecuter Connectivery Kit which now features and support the new LiteOn Drives and the popular USB connections.
President George W. Bush signed into law on Monday a controversial bill that would stiffen penalties for movie and music piracy at the federal level.
The law creates an intellectual property czar who will report directly to the president on how to better protect copyrights both domestically and internationally. The Justice Department had argued that the creation of this position would undermine its authority.
The law also toughens criminal laws against piracy and counterfeiting, although critics have argued that the measure goes too far and risks punishing people who have not infringed.
The Recording Industry Association of America and Motion Picture Association of America backed the bill, as did the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
"By becoming law, the PRO-IP Act sends the message to IP criminals everywhere that the U.S. will go the extra mile to protect American innovation," said Tom Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Counterfeiting and piracy costs the United States nearly $250 billion annually, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Rick Cotton, general counsel for NBC Universal, said the bill would give movie and music makers more tools to fight what he called a "tidal wave" of counterfeiting and piracy of everything from medical devices to automobile parts to media by organized crime.
"That is at the core of what this discussion is about," he said. "It is not about teenagers."
Microsoft's New Xbox Experience has been pored over and dated, but now that Major Nelson has revealed it requires "at least" 128MB storage available to work, where does that leave suckers Core and Arcade SKU Xbox 360 owners? Enter the Xbox 360 Memory Upgrade Program, doling out free 512MB MU's or $20 20GB HDDs to Core owners, and a $30 20GB HDD + 3 months of Xbox Live package to Arcade owners looking to upgrade. November 19, Xbox Live becomes a storage-only affair (that goes for Netflix streams too, requiring 8MB of free space), so grab your serial number and console ID from the current Xbox 360 Dashboard and hit the registration website. Impressive customer service gesture to extend functionality for all, or more evidence of a short sighted and flawed dual-SKU launch plan that's cost gamers and developers alike? All we know for sure is we've probably figured out where the profits from those $149 120GB HDDs are going.
As part of the London Games Fringe (an indie adjunct to the full-blown London Games Festival), female gamers will be able to compete head-to-head in the first Grl Gmr Tournament.
Taking place on October 25th at the Rocket on Holloway Road, the tournament will consist of Wii Tennis, Tekken, Unreal Tournament, Kuri Kuri Mix and Mario Kart competitions. Five individual winners will be named, with one overall winner being crowned Champion.
The event is free and supporters and spectators of either sex are welcome.
FIFA 09 has dominated the software sales chart for the week ended October 5, according to data provided by Media-Control GfK International.
The Spanish chart saw the football title take the top three spots on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 respectively. Wii Fit came in fourth, followed by Wii Play at fifth and Mario Kart Wii at sixth.
FIFA 09 for the PlayStation Portable took seventh place and FIFA 09 for the PC came in ninth, preceded by Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for the PS3 at eight.
Closing off the top ten of the Spanish software sales chart was the PC MMO Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning at number ten.
Similary, the German chart saw FIFA take a dominant lead on most platforms, claiming the top four spots on PS3, PS2, Xbox 360 and PC respectively.
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, for the PC, came in fifth, followed by Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning at sixth and the Sacred 2: Fallen Angel Collector's Edition at seven.
Wii Fit took eighth place and Mario Kart Wii took ninth, while Crysis Warhead for the PC closed the chart at ten.
The software sales chart for Spain follows:
1. FIFA 09 (PS3)
2. FIFA 09 (Xbox 360)
3. FIFA 09 (PS2)
4. Wii Fit (Wii)
5. Wii Play (Wii)
6. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
7. FIFA 09 (PSP)
8. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS3)
9. FIFA 09 (PC)
10. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC)
The software sales chart for Germany follows:
1. FIFA 09 (PS3)
2. FIFA 09 (PS2)
3. FIFA 09 (Xbox 360)
4. FIFA 09 (PC)
5. Sacred 2: Fallen Angel (PC)
6. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC)
7. Sacred 2: Fallen Angel Collector's Edition (PC)
8. Wii Fit (Wii)
9. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
10. Crysis Warhead (PC)
Step onto the pitch and play professional soccer your way in FIFA Soccer 09.
Experience the most authentic soccer simulation EA SPORTS™ has delivered as you live the fantasy of playing as a professional player and customize the game to suit your style and ability.
Powered by the third generation of the EA SPORTS football engine, FIFA Soccer 09 features more than 250 core gameplay additions and enhancements that deliver the most responsive, intelligent and realistic action ever for the series.
Enjoy turning defenders with more controlled dribbling and ball control, snapping off precision shots with improved first-time shooting mechanics and firing beautifully timed passes with greater accuracy, placing the ball exactly where you want it.
The realistic soccer game is available on all new consoles:
Xbox360™
FIFA Soccer 09 US US$ 64.90
FIFA Soccer 09 JPN US$ 74.90
FIFA Soccer 09 ASIA US$ 49.90
PlayStation3™
FIFA Soccer 09 JPN US$ 74.90
FIFA Soccer 09 ASIA US$ 49.90
FIFA Soccer 09 US US$ 64.90
Nintendo Wii™
FIFA Soccer 09 All-Play JPN US$ 59.90
FIFA Soccer 09 All-Play US US$ 54.90
PlayStation2™
FIFA Soccer 09 JPN US$ 59.90
FIFA Soccer 09 US US$ 44.90
Nintendo DS™
FIFA Soccer 09 US US$ 34.90
Sony PSP™
FIFA Soccer 09 JPN US$ 48.90
FIFA Soccer 09 ASIA US$ 42.90
FIFA Soccer 09 US US$ 44.90
PC Game
FIFA Soccer 09 (DVD-ROM) ASIA US$ 39.90
Most of the Japanese versions will arrive in November but the PlayStation2 version is coming in December. The US versions are arriving later this week while most of the Asian versions have arrived today, the remaining ones will come within this week.
features
Shear off limbs with powerful weapons as you carve a bloody path through the alien hordes
Find ways to neutralize attacking enemies effectively or they'll keep coming at you
A blood-curdling interactive horror experience features state-of-the art graphics and effects, a panic-inducing audio system, and a truly frightening atmosphere of death and despair
Battle relentless enemies and crack challenging puzzles in unprecedented zero-gravity environments that reinvent survival horror
Cut through the harrowing mystery to stop the alien onslaught
description
When an immense mining ship, the USG Ishimura, comes into contact with a mysterious alien artifact in Dead Space, its communications with Earth are mysteriously cut off. Engineer Isaac Clarke is sent to repair the Ishimura's communications array, but he arrives to find a living nightmare—the ship is a floating bloodbath, the crew unspeakably mutilated and infected by an ancient alien scourge. Clarke's repair mission becomes one of survival as he fights not just to save himself, but to return the artifact to the planet … at any cost.
features
Rebuild the Saints and seek revenge against rivals to reestablish your crew as the rightful kings of Stilwater
Customize your crib, recruit your gang, and set your swagger using countless combination’s of character configuration
Protect yourself with human shields, throw rivals into oncoming traffic and zero-in your nut-shot using all-new Fine Aim controls
Build your empire with private jets, speedboats, and helicopters or strafe the hood of your rival’s monster truck from the comfort of your fighter plane
Discover both the familiar and strange in a revitalized Stilwater as you taunt, mug and streak your way through the city
Send a message to your enemies using an arsenal of rocket launchers, shock-paddles, stun-guns, and satchel-charges
Complete the campaign in two-player co-op, or multiply the mayhem with online open-world gameplay
description
Five years have passed since your former Saints crew betrayed you. As you awake from a coma for the first time since that fateful day, you find the Stilwater you once ruled is in disarray. Unfamiliar gangs have laid claim to your territory, rival factions have taken over your rackets, and cash-hungry corporations have laid waste to your once proud 3rd Street home. Abandoned and left scarred with an unrecognizable face, you seek out a plastic surgeon to begin your new life on the streets of Stilwater.
Respect can only be earned in Stilwater, and that requires a lifestyle that reflects your unique personality. Your crib, your crew, and your character define who you are on the streets and how you are perceived. The image you portray is as important as the decisions you make in a city ruled by false bravado and impulsive behavior. The only constant is the need for an identity that reflects your individuality and is backed up by your 12 gauge.
Style and image can only take you so far in a world where actions speak louder than words. Sometimes sending a message to your enemies requires heavy lifting, like that of a rival gang member into oncoming traffic. Respect in Stilwater needs to be taken, and what better way than to grab it from the hands of a gang full of enemies by means of a satchel charge.
The fight to reclaim Stilwater does not have to be waged alone. The Saints once ruled these streets as a crew of brothers, and their return to the top can help be secured through co-operative alliances. The time has finally come to seek revenge against your rivals to reestablish your crew as the rightful kings of Stilwater.
Details have emerged on Microsoft's "storage solution" for hard drive-less Xbox 360 Arcade owners looking to upgrade to the New Xbox Experience later this year.
The dashboard revamp, which has just been dated for November 19, requires a minimum of 128MB of free storage space - or at least a 256MB memory card.
Active live members with no storage or a 64MB memory unity will be offered a 512MB version for free, while all 'active' Arcade console owners will have the opportunity to purchase a 20GB hard drive for £12.99. Not a bad deal.
If you own an Arcade console and haven't used Xbox Live for more than 12 months, Microsoft's offering a 20GB HDD and 3 months XBL package for £19.99, which is fair enough.
You can register for the memory upgrade program on Microsoft's official site, and see the full list of offers below:
Active Live members with no storage or a 64MB MU will be offered 512mb for free or a 20GB HDD for £12.99
Active Live members with 256MB or 512MB MU but no HDD will be offered a 20GB HDD for £12.99
Consoles that have not connected to XBL for 12 months and don't possess MU will be offered a 20GB HDD and 3 months Xbox Live for £19.99
Active Live Arcade console owners without a HDD will be offered a 20GB HDD for £12.99
Arcade console owners without a HDD and not connected to XBL within 12 months will be offered a 20gb HDD and 3 months Xbox Live for £19.99
UK retailer GameStation has begun taking pre-orders for a Gears of War 2 bundle featuring a replica Gold Lancer Assault Rifle. And it could be yours for a meagre GBP 129.99. Peanuts.
The gold-painted plastic gun is the same model Epic announced was selling like "hot cakes" on Amazon back in August.
In detail: 36-inches in size, weighs 5kg, vibrates and makes a chainsaw noise when three C-size batteries are put in.
The GameStation deal also includes a Limited Edition copy of Gears of War 2.
This contains a 48-page hardback book of art introduced by Cliff Bleszinski, a 'Making Of' DVD, a Dom and Maria keepsake photo, a tin case and an Xbox Live code to unlock a gold-plated Lancer gun in Gears of War 2.
Gears of War 2 is due out exclusively for Xbox 360 on 7th November.
Konami has told Eurogamer that Silent Hill: Homecoming has been pushed back to February 2009 in Europe.
The spooky PC, 360 and PS3 game was expected at the end of the month, on Halloween. No reason was given for the delay, and the publisher was reluctant to discuss the matter further.
We suspect regional localisation issues are to blame. Or, perhaps, Konami simply wanted out of a busy release period. Maybe the extra time will even be used to address a few issues.
Silent Hill: Homecoming was released in the US at the end of September and has earned decent critical applause - resulting in a Metacritic average of 73 per cent.
Homecoming is the sixth instalment in the long-running and successful Silent Hill series (Silent Hill: Origins on PSP being the fifth). Team Silent, however, no longer has a hand in the games, having backed out after Silent Hill 4.
According to a Tokyo Game Show report from Japanese investment research firm Morningstar, Metal Gear Solid 4 may find its way to the Xbox 360 after all. Morningstar published a general article covering multiplatform trends that features a quote from a Konami public relations representative that should fuel rumors for months to come. The rep is quoted as saying, regarding MGS4, "We're actively looking into a release for the Xbox 360." While this isn't a confirmation of it coming, it does lend hope to those Xbox 360 owners who haven't plunked down money on a PS3.
However, this little quote doesn't clear the major hurdle Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima has listed for the title coming to Xbox 360. He has been quoted in several interviews saying a port was likely impossible due to the game being optimized for the PS3 hardware, specifically Blu-ray discs.
IGN has contacted Konami's US representatives for a comment and is awaiting a response. The original Morningstar report can be found here.
The 2D maze/puzzle game Crazy Mouse is on its way to Xbox Live Arcade on Wednesday.
Developed in China by Ultizen Games, Crazy Mouse casts you as a mouse seeking a gourmet meal. Over the course of the 32-level game, players will attempt to grab and eat food, run, dodge and score. There are two single-player modes, including story mode and battle mode.
In Story mode, the player is placed in sequential puzzles to try and earn more points than an opponent, earning a score and rank on each puzzle. In Battle Mode, the player competes against a number of mice to see who can score the most points in the shortest amount of time.
Crazy Mouse also includes Multiplayer modes both offline and over Xbox Live, and players can either cooperate or compete. Look for our review of Crazy Mouse soon.
Following up on reports that the new Xbox 360 dashboard will no longer feature photo and movie sharing, Microsoft has confirmed with Shacknews that the software update will launch without the ability to share movies with other Xbox Live members.
However, the update will still feature online Photo Sharing functionality when it arrives as a free software download on November 19. The company explained that comments from Xbox senior strategist Rob Gruhl regarding the addition of Photo Sharing were hypothetical, meant to stress that the software is dynamic and can be easily updated.
Last week we noted unconfirmed sightings of an "Obama for President" billboard in the Xbox 360 racing game Burnout Paradise. Today we're able to report that it is, in fact, an official advertisement placed by the senator's campaign team.
"I can confirm that the Obama campaign has paid for in-game advertising in Burnout," Holly Rockwood, director of corporate communications at Electronic Arts, the game's publisher, told me via email, noting that EA regularly allows ad placements in their online games. "Like most television, radio and print outlets, we accept advertising from credible political candidates," she continued. "Like political spots on the television networks, these ads do not reflect the political policies of EA or the opinions of its development teams."
A little bit of behind-the-scenes info has come to light about Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade certification process via OXM.
Now we all know XBLA game have to have a certain number of achievements and be under a certain size, but did you know that they have to be playable on a 14-inch CRT television? If you did, stop reading now. There's nothing more for you here.
Introversion Software MD Mark Morris (currently working on Darwinia+ for XBLA) told OXM, "Microsoft has extremely strict technical certification requirements that you have to get right. One of the biggest challenges is that your game has got to be playable on a 14-inch CRT television.
"So you have to do all this visibility work in case someone is playing it on a composite cable through a TV, to make sure they can still read all of the text and tell exactly what's going on."
If anyone can remember playing Capcom's Dead Rising on an old-skool TV, and bursting blood vessels in their eyeballs trying to read the tiny text, then you'll know what he's talking about.
Read more about how games get onto Xbox Live over on OXM. It's well worth a look.
According to the internet, the next Xbox will be "forward compatible", meaning current Xbox 360 games will be enhanced on Microsoft's next console. Pass the salt.
That's according to a "source" belonging to site Xbox Evolved anyway.
According to the site current Xbox 360 games will see graphical improvements, such as increased draw distance, framerate and more anti-aliasing, on the next Xbox, similar to how PC games will look better on more high-end hardware.
"Our sources indicate that Microsoft is in a stage of 'testing the waters' before they nail down the final specs of the new machine. Introducing these options early on to developers means that the games they make for the Xbox 360 will have no life on the next platform," says the site.
Sounds likely enough to us. What do our technically apt readers think? Sound off below.
In an about-face not uncommon for the outspoken politician, Mayor of London Boris Johnson has praised the UK games industry while backing this month's upcoming London Games Festival.
It was December 2006 that Johnson publicly blamed videogames for a variety of ills, laying into games consoles as a cause of "ignorance, underachievement... and poverty," amongst young people.
"It is about time, as a society, that we admitted the catastrophic effect these blasted gizmos are having on the literacy and the prospects of young males," Johnson wrote in The Telegraph.
"Millions of seven to 15 year-olds are hooked, especially boys, and it is time someone had the guts to stand up, cross the room and just say no to Nintendo."
However, today, the London Mayor has put his weight behind EA's Be The One event scheduled for October 31 and November 1 in Trafalgar Square.
"I'm delighted that the London Games Festival is back in our city for its third year. It demonstrates the creativity and range of the gaming industry, which, as an important part of London's creative sector, makes a vital contribution to the economy as a whole," said Johnson in the official press release.
"With events across the capital, the festival has something for everyone and illustrates the popularity of this thriving form of entertainment. I am pleased to see EA's Be The One event is returning to Trafalgar Square.
"It was an undoubted highlight of last year's festival, which reinforces London's position at the centre of one the most fastest-growing creative industries in the world."
The 'Be The One BattleDome' will boast multiple gaming pods and screens and will host a series of celebrity and public gaming challenges, as well as live music performances.
As well as EA Sports competitions and the chance for the public to play Mirror's Edge, Spore and Warhammer Online, Johnson will no doubt be pleased that there will also be a number of titles for Nintendo formats, including Littlest Pet Shop, Boogie and SuperStar.
I don't even know how this would work, but Xbox Evolved says that the next Xbox (720 or Next, whatever) won't just be backward-compatible with games, it'll be forward-compatible. What the hell does that mean? Forward-compatibility would mean that games made for the 360 will be able to take full advantage of the next Xbox's muscle to look more amazing and like that generaation—not just cleaner textures and higher resolutions, but better frame rate, draw distance, the whole deal. Also, it would mean features in the 720's controller would be used in the game as well—in effect, yanking it forward a generation.
Microsoft are happy. Why? Because while many of you were convinced to part with pre-order money for the first Gears of War, going off naught but a marketing campaign and some gravelly voices, more of you have done so for Gears of War 2. And when you're a large global publisher, nothing looks better on the books than millions of advance sales. Such chest-beating over bean-counting is enjoyable not for the bean-counting itself, but for the precedent it sets; we fully expect the Gears 3 marketing to go one better and feature the press release "More Bottom-Feeding Forum Users Have Said They're Totally Buying Gears 3".
For all their attempts at space opera 101, the real pull for a lot of Halo fans wasn't the struggle between humanity and a vast alien empire. It was multiplayer. Sweet, balanced, near-pefect multiplayer. But did you know that one of the series' most important legacies almost never made the cut? Hardy LeBel - who aside from having a fantastic name also worked on the first Halo's MP (he's now with Ubisoft working on Far Cry 2) - explains:
When we got bought by Microsoft, Alex Seropian and Jason Jones, who were the two principals of Bungie, came to me and [former Bungie engineer and animator] Michael Evans, and said, "Multiplayer is cut from Halo because we're trying to make it really work on the console and we just don't have the resources."
But we threw a fit and were like, "No way! You can't cut it! It's just too cool!"
They said, "We were hoping you'd say that — because you two guys have to resurrect it."
Oh, what could have been. A world without Blood Gulch isn't a world worth living in.
XBOX 360 Controller emulator v1.0 for PC games using XINPUT.
This program will allow you to use other controllers rather than the XBOX 360 Controller for games like
'Juiced 2' and 'The Club'. This is an early version and the buttons/axes are hard coded
for the Logitech Cordless Rumblepad 2 Controller, but it may also work for other controllers.
I may update this in the future if it has enough demand, as for now it works perfectly in my case.
Source is included if you want to attempt to change it... remember to install the newest DX SDK.
The Infectus X360 CPU Time Attack Add on PCB is a board that is designed to fit neatly on the Infectus 1 & 2 chips to give you access to X360 CPU Time Attack function
You may need to be logged in to see products on Mr Modchips some arent available to see for non members.
Saint's Row 2 might be a very tongue-in-cheek take on the GTA-style sandbox genre, but the New York's police unions are taking the game very seriously indeed, calling for it to be pulled from store shelves because it glorifies the sort of things you should really only do in video games.
New York's powerful police unions say that a violent new video game called "Saints Row 2" is an abomination. In the game, the player controls a gang member who can steal, do drugs and kill as many characters as possible, including police officers.
Yesterday Manhattan District Attorney candidate Leslie Crocker-Snyder spoke out against the game, which I am positive she has never touched, but I am sure the police unions appreciated it and will put in a good word for her when voting comes around. I sigh.
A few months ago, millions of nerds suffered the ultimate blow -- Activision announced that it would not be publishing Ghostbusters, a title the company came to own after taking over Sierra. However, a ray of light has broken through the clouds this morning thanks to Ray Stantz.
Dan Aykroyd says Atari will be publishing Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
Apparently, Aykroyd lets the beans spill today during an appearance on Live 105.3 KLLI, a Dallas-based radio station. Although Aykroyd's appearance on the station hasn't been posted on the channel's official Web site, reports of the conversation -- in which Aykroyd said the game is a year away -- are cropping up all over the Internet.
Terminal Reality, the developer behind the Ghostbusters game, offered IGN a no comment this afternoon, and a message with Atari was not immediately returned. When we have more information, this story will be updated, so be sure to check back.
Microsoft are facing a lawsuit, brought under California's consumer protection statutes, was filed in the Sacramento County Superior Court. The lawsuit alleges that an excessive number of Xbox 360 consoles have failed, resulting in what is commonly known in the gaming community as the "red ring of death". The lawsuit further alleges that Microsoft concealed the excessive failure rate of its Xbox 360 consoles in order to compete with the pending launch of Sony's Playstation 3 and Nintendo's Wii gaming systems.
The class action lawsuit seeks an order that Microsoft disgorge all profits attributable to its sale of the Xbox 360, as well as that Microsoft publicly announce and implement a refund program in California.
Xbox 360 consoles are already dirt cheap in the US. Now Microsoft has utterly soiled itself through a series of Dell coupons dropping the prices of the Xbox 360 Arcade, Pro, and Elite Holiday Bundles by $30 (now $169), $50 (now $250), and $70 (now $330), respectively, just in time for the holidays. Better yet, we're talking free shipping and either one or two free game tossed in for grins. Hurry now, the offers expire on Monday Thursday, October 23rd and it's not like you can afford to take the family to grandma's house this year anyway.
Most DIY projects that involve taking one device and cramming it into the guts of another end up squeezing a large gadget into a smaller one. It's impressive! But to take a PowerBook G4 and to put it into the hulking husk of an Xbox 360? I'm not sure I get the point. You take an old laptop that was portable and stick it into something that is decidedly not portable. Uh, cool? And the DVD drive is sticking out of the side, making the Xbox 360's drive useless!
Numbers time! Japanese game site Dengeki Online is running results of a poll that was composed of 86.3 percent men and 13.7 percent women with an average age of 25.46 years old. Questions included things like "Have you cried during gaming?" or "What game are you looking forward to?" In the poll, three of the games that made Japanese gamers cry are"adult visual novels" — two of them are erotic game ports and one is a straight up PC erotic game. That's not that surprising as many Japanese gamers do play erotic games for the story. No, really.
Also from the data, which do you think Dengeki Online readers are more excited about: The Last Remnant or Final Fantasy XIII? That and more, after the jump.
Have you been moved to tears during game play?
No (53.5 percent)
Yes (46.5 percent)
What game made you cry
1. Final Fantasy X (PS2)
2. Clannad (Xbox 360)
3. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP)
4. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2)
5. Kanon (PSP)
6. Tales of the Abyss (PS2)
7. AIR (PSP)
8. Dragon Quest V (DS)
9. Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation)
10. Little Busters! (PC)
Please tell us what game you have purchased in the last month.
1. Super Robot Taisen Z (PS2)
2. Quiz Magic Academy DS (DS)
3. Infinite Undiscovery (Xbox 360)
4. Pokémon Platinum (DS)
5. World Destruction (DS)
6. Aquanaut's Holiday (PS3)
7. Tales of Vesperia (Xbox 360)
8. Cross Edge (PS3)
9. Eternal Sonata (PS3)
10. Nights in the Nightmare (DS)
Please tell us what upcoming game title you are looking forward to.
1. The Last Remnant (Xbox 360)
2. Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
3. Crono Trigger (DS)
4. White Knight Chronicles (PS3)
5. Gundam vs. Gundam (PSP)
6. Star Ocean 4 -The Last Hope- (Xbox 360)
7. Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon (PS2)
8. DISSIDIA Final Fantasy (PSP)
9. Dragon Quest IX (DS)
10. Gundam Musou 2 (PS3)
Remember when Dead Rising first came out on 360? If you had a HDTV, it was great. Nothing but zombie-killing good times. But if you had a small, CRT TV, you were in trouble, because a lot of the game's critical text was unreadable on low-def TVs. Seemed a strange thing to design for. And is something that would/could never happen for an Xbox Live Arcade title, with Introversion disclosing that part of the service's certification process involves ensuring games are playable on a television setup from 1994. Or, in other words, a 14" CRT TV hooked up via a composite cable. It's a charitable condition, but you have to wonder whether the cost in terms of presentation is worth catering for that chunk of the market.
Microsoft are yet to officially announce it, but a listing has appeared on Xbox.com for the digital re-release of 2004's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. We'll take that as announcement enough. It'll be the standard 1200 points, and will go on sale next Monday, October 20. For those left wanting by GTAIV's flat final stages, now's as good a time as any to go back to the days GTA games could get away with alien abduction sub-plots and jetpacks.
The XBLA version of Portal - Portal: Still Alive - will be with us soon. In an attempt to drum up support for a game that most of you already own in some form or another, the XBLA version will feature new achievements. Twelve of them (it's a little unclear whether these are all of them or just some) have been revealed by Microsoft, and they run from the easy ("Dissolve a Turret") to the not-so-easy ("Complete the game without ever taking a bullet"). If you're interested in seeing whether these will get you to buy the game again, the full list is after the jump.
Welcome to this week's Games Update, our weekly summary featuring all new product arrivals from the last seven days.
One of the bigger events that happened this week is the release of the Sony PSP 3000 consoles.
Designed to be a device for communication, the handheld comes with a microphone for Skype. People have complained that they found it difficult to see what is happening on the screen under strong sunlight, therefore the developers remedied this problem in this version by reducing the glare.
More is done to improve the already superb screen, the refresh rate, contrast are very much worked upon. The consoles came out in three styles, Pearl White, Piano Black and Mystic silver. For the full range of packages, please see here.
A number of interesting US games have arrived. One of them is the survival horror Dead Space. To retrieve an ancient relic, you have travelled through the galaxy only to have your communication cut off and pit against regiments of monstrous aliens. Slash and hack your way through the horror to emerge victorious.
Danger lurks not only out there in space, but within every corner and crevice of the society. Betrayed by your friends, you are disfigured and exiled from the street kingdom you have built. Full of righteous fury, you are ready to strike back and claim what is yours in Saints Row 2. If turning the streets into a blood bath is the only way, so be it.
Ride back on your beasts to the medieval times in Golden Axe: Beast Rider where duels are carried out in the most extravagant and noisiest of ways. Clash weapons with your opponents and exchange blows. Tyris Flare from the first installment is back to wreak havoc to her enemies.
Excitement need not come in torrents of blood and guts. To the less violent and blood thirsty of you, FIFA Soccer 09 is a perfect game to stimulate your reflexes and pump your adrenaline. Form your own team and see what being in the league truly means.
Popular Japanese games are made into US versions to recieve a wider sphere of audiences. Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility, Bleach: Dark Soul, Legend of Kage 2 are such games. Assume the roles of a farmer, a death angel and a ninja for a small reprise within these times of gloom.
It is proving true that you are omnipotent and can become anything in the world of video games. A lot of people have longed to become musicians, realize this romantic dream of yours on your Nintendo Wii on Wii Music. Pick up an instrument from the wide range of choices and start playing.
Energy problems may not be the sole source of conflicts but a lot of violence has certainly stemmed from it. This is especially true in Gundam 00 where the large countries have full control over solar power. Keep things from escalating to a massive galactic war with your mobile suit in Gundam Meisters.
More than one realm is in need of protection in these days, as the demon lord, prevent the heroes from taking over your land by making a fool out of them first in Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikida 2 [JPN & ASN vers.].
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™
Crash: Mind Over Mutant US US$ 54.90
Dead Space ASIA US$ 49.90
FIFA Soccer 09 ASIA US$ 49.90
FaceBreaker JPN US$ 64.90
Fracture ASIA US$ 49.90
Golden Axe: Beast Rider ASIA US$ 49.90
Guilty Gear 2: Overture US US$ 64.90
NBA 2K9 US US$ 64.90
Saints Row 2 US US$ 64.90
Saints Row 2 ASIA US$ 49.90
Silent Hill: Homecoming ASIA US$ 59.90
PlayStation3™
FIFA Soccer 09 ASIA US$ 42.90
FIFA Soccer 09 ASIA US$ 49.90
FaceBreaker JPN US$ 64.90
Fracture ASIA US$ 49.90
Golden Axe: Beast Rider ASIA US$ 49.90
NBA 2K9 US US$ 64.90
NBA 2K9 ASIA US$ 59.90
Saints Row 2 US US$ 64.90
Nintendo Wii™
Crash: Mind Over Mutant US US$ 54.90
Daikaijuu Battle: Ultra Coliseum JPN US$ 59.90
Game Party II US US$ 34.90
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock JPN US$ 59.90
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith JPN US$ 59.90
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Bundle JPN US$ 129.90
Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility US US$ 59.90
Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces JPN US$ 64.90
Wii Lens Cleaner Kit JPN US$ 9.90
Wii Music JPN US$ 59.90
PlayStation2™
Arcana Heart (AQ the Best) JPN US$ 19.90
Mobile Suit Gundam 00: Gundam Meisters JPN US$ 64.90
Mortal Kombat Kollection US US$ 39.90
NBA 2K9 US US$ 24.90
Nintendo DS™
Animal Paradise US US$ 24.90
Away: Shuffle Dungeon JPN US$ 48.90
Barbie Fashion Show: An Eye for Style US US$ 34.90
Bleach: Dark Souls US US$ 34.90
Crash: Mind Over Mutant US US$ 34.90
Culdcept DS JPN US$ 48.90
Imagine Fashion Designer New York US US$ 34.90
Imagine: Babysitters US US$ 34.90
Nazo Nazo & Quiz Ichi Kotae Jikkon Q Mate! JPN US$ 48.90
Prey The Stars US US$ 34.90
Rekku no Houmonsha Deokishisu senyou (DSVision) JPN US$ 29.90
Spectrobes: Beyond The Portals US US$ 34.90
The Legend of Kage 2 US US$ 24.90
Yattaman DS 2 JPN US$ 48.90
Sony PSP™
Dead Space ASIA US$ 49.90
My Spanish Coach US US$ 34.90
PSP Accessory Pack JPN US$ 39.90
PSP Cradle & D-Terminal Cable (for PSP-2000/3000 Models) JPN US$ 69.90
PSP Cradle (for PSP-2000/3000 Models) JPN US$ 49.90
PSP PlayStation Portable Battery Pack (2200mAh) (Mystic Silver) JPN US$ 54.90
PSP PlayStation Portable Battery Pack (2200mAh) (Pearl White) JPN US$ 54.90
PSP PlayStation Portable Slim & Lite - Mystic Silver (PSP-3000MS) JPN US$ 249.90
PSP PlayStation Portable Slim & Lite - Mystic Silver Value Pack (PSP-3000KMS) JPN US$ 279.90
PSP PlayStation Portable Slim & Lite - Pearl White (PSP-3000PW) JPN US$ 249.90
PSP PlayStation Portable Slim & Lite - Pearl White Value Pack (PSP-3000KPW) JPN US$ 279.90
PSP PlayStation Portable Slim & Lite - Piano Black (PSP-3000PB) JPN US$ 249.90
PSP PlayStation Portable Slim & Lite - Piano Black Value Pack (PSP-3000KPB) JPN US$ 279.90
PSP Pouch (Pearl White / Mystic Silver) JPN US$ 19.90
PSP Pouch (Piano Black) JPN US$ 19.90
Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikida Or 2 JPN US$ 39.90
Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikida Or 2 ASIA US$ 36.90 PC Games
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (DVD-ROM) US US$ 54.90
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (DVD-ROM) [Limited Edition] US US$ 69.90
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel ASIA US$ 39.90
The House of the Dead III ASIA US$ 17.90
Game Guides and Books
Crash: Mind Over Mutant: Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 19.90
Dead Space: Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 19.90
Fracture Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 19.90
Golden Axe: Beast Rider Official Strategy Guide US US$ 17.90
Gyakuten Saiban Tokubetsu Hout Orchestra Concert 2008 Official DVD Book JPN US$ 44.90
Soul Eater: Monotone Princess Official Complete Guide JPN US$ 22.90
Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals Official Strategy Guide US US$ 17.90
Weekly Famitsu No. 1036 (2008 10/24) JPN US$ 7.90
Video Game Related Soundtrack
Rhythm Tengoku Gold Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 49.90
Here is a preview of what are expected to be hot next week, as you can see, quite a lot of them:
Xbox360™
Fable II ASIA US$ 49.90
Fable II US US$ 64.90
Fable II [Limited Edition] US US$ 89.90
Fable II [Limited Edition] ASIA N/A
FarCry 2 ASIA US$ 49.90
Midnight Club: Los Angeles ASIA US$ 49.90
Rock Revolution US US$ 54.90
PlayStation3™
Eternal Sonata US US$ 64.90
FarCry 2 US US$ 64.90
LittleBigPlanet US US$ 64.90
Midnight Club: Los Angeles US US$ 64.90
Midnight Club: Los Angeles ASIA US$ 59.90
Rock Revolution US US$ 54.90
SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation US US$ 44.90
SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation (w/ Headset) US US$ 69.90
Nintendo Wii™
Dokapon Kingdom US US$ 44.90
Tenchu 4 JPN US$ 64.90
PlayStation™
Devil Summoner: Kuzunoha Raidou tai Abaddon Ou JPN US$ 64.90
Devil Summoner: Kuzunoha Raidou tai Abaddon Ou Plus JPN US$ 99.90
Dokapon Kingdom US US$ 44.90
Nintendo Wii™
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia US US$ 34.90
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia / Akumajou Dracula: Ubawareta Kokuin JPN US$ 48.90
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia / Akumajou Dracula: Ubawareta Kokuin [Konamistyle Limited Edition] JPN US$ 119.90
Ketsui Death Label JPN US$ 58.90
Kimi no Yuusha JPN US$ 48.90
My Japanese Coach US US$ 34.90
Soul Eater: Medusa no Inbou JPN US$ 48.90
Sony PSP™
Bleach: Soul Carnival JPN US$ 48.90
Bleach: Soul Carnival ASIA US$ 42.90
Star Ocean: First Departure US US$ 44.90
Access our preorder lists for further upcoming games, movie, and music releases.
Namco Bandai's Macross Ace Frontier has debuted at the top of the Japanese software sales chart for the week ended October 12, according to data provided by Media Create.
The PlayStation Portable title sold 104,000 units, keeping Pokemon Platinum for the Nintendo DS in second place at 86,000 units, as Rhythm Tengoku Gold, also for the DS, came in third having sold 49,000 units.
The PlayStation 2 titles Dynasty Warriors 6 Special and Super Robot Wars Z came in fourth and fifth respectively at 48,000 units each. Wii Fit for the Nintendo Wii sold 16,000 units and took sixth place, while Mario Kart Wii sold 10,000 units and came in seventh.
Konami's Powerful Major League 3 for the PlayStation 2 came in eighth, followed by Dragonball DS in ninth place and Daigasso! Band Brothers DX for the DS in tenth place, each claiming 8000 unit sales.
Japanese software chart follows:
01. Macross Ace Frontier (PSP)
02. Pokemon Platinum (DS)
03. Rhythm Tengoku Gold (DS)
04. Dynasty Warriors 6 Special (PS2)
05. Super Robot Wars Z (PS2)
06. Wii Fit (Wii)
07. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
08. Powerful Major League 3 (PS2)
09. Dragonball DS (DS)
10. Daigasso! Band Brothers DX (DS)
This Powerbook modification is actually a spin-off of another project. Let me explain, my other project (Twenty First Century Mac) was originally based upon a 867Mhz PowerBook G4 Logic board. Unfortunately, the 867 is too slow for active TV Tuners (specifically, the one I already purchased.) so I had to scratch the 867Mhz from the project. Since I didn't have any true use for it, it sat idle. (with 1.12GB of RAM, Combo Drive, etc. To go with it.)
I'm an avid broken Xbox 360 collector, trying to develop strategies for hacking and repairing once-thought dead consoles. I've got plenty of empty 360 cases around with nothing to do but gather dust. When it hit me, The PowerBook logic boards are tiny. Perfect for one of those cases. Even better with PSU integration.
I had plenty of left-over PowerBook parts to make a decent machine. With a nice small footprint.
Specs
* 867Mhz PowerBook G4
* 60GB Fujitsu HD (Former test drive. ☺)
* Functional Ring Of Light, including sleep indication
* Combo Drive
* Built In Battery
* Stealth Power Button
* 65W Power Supply
* OS X Tiger 10.4.11
Xbox Live boss John Schappert has said he would love to see Metal Gear Solid 4 on 360, and that the console certainly has power enough to handle the beefy game.
"I'm certainly in the fan club that would love to see Kojima-san's masterpiece come our way. It would be wonderful to play Metal Gear Solid on the Xbox. It could become another of the many franchises that started their life on another console that are now coming our way," Schappert told MCV.
"I can't speak on behalf of Konami, but I can shed more light on the fact that we definitely have the power to run MGS4.
"There are a lot of recent examples that are in true high-def on our platform and aren't on PS3. We've got an amazing amount of horsepower and graphics power," he added.
His comments further grind the rumour mill set into action by Japanese Konami PR Yoshitaka Arai, who told a regional publication yesterday that "worldwide demand" for MGS4 on Xbox 360 was "quite high", and something the company was "looking into".
Kojima told us in August he was fed up of people asking for MGS4 on Xbox 360, but then he's trying to move away from the series and leave future instalments to a younger team, anyway.
The Metal Gear Solid creator is expected to unveil a brand new game at the Tokyo Game Show in 2009, too.
What's all the fuss about? Metal Gear Solid 4 only got 8/10. Look at all those worms!
Rare may be hard at work on a third Killer Instinct fighting game.
Rumours were fuelled by the arrival of three Viva Piñata animal cards based on characters from Killer Instinct - these are free and need simply to be scanned by a Live Vision camera to appear in-game.
The significance lies in Rare having teased the past two Killer Instinct instalments in other games: the first in Donkey Kong Country 2, and the second in Diddy Kong Racing.
This rumour joins mounting evidence almost purposely leaked by the developer itself in recent months - a bit like leaving the door open at naughty time.
Killer Instinct was a brutal fighting game with swanky graphics that appeared on arcades in 1994. It was later ported to SNES and GameBoy.
One of the main attractions was stringing together enormous combos sometimes made up of over 80 hits. There were finishing moves, too.
The beta for Call of Duty: World At War is under way. And the good news is that if you loved COD4 multiplayer, then this will put you right back in that same comfort zone. It's every bit the same as Modern Combat only in a new setting with some new equipment and options to master.
There are a selection of new perks (even vehicle perks), weapons and maps to be devoured so let's get right to it. Below you'll find movies and first impressions. If you're not on the beta, let us assure you that it's all good and not as World War II-y as we first feared. We had to drag ourselves away from ranking up to bring you these words, so make sure you read them eh?
Wow, those console sales are really falling in Japan across all platforms. I suspect it's to do with to global economic slowdown which isn't good for business. The figures for the week Oct 6th-12th from Media Create are down below as usual:
Nintendo DS Lite: 31,914
Playstation Portable: 23,901
Nintendo Wii: 22,877
Xbox 360: 7,763
Playstation 2: 6,982
Playstation 3: 5,734
Slight change to 4th and 5th positions but anyway, in rough figures: DS Lite is on top, takes 11,400 hit. PSP is second, drops 2,000. Next is the Wii, loses 2,500. Xbox 360 comes 4th, reduced by 700 while the PS2 slides into 5th place, down 1,700. Last in line is the PS3, down 1,500.
All in all, yet another week of slow console hardware sales
Price cuts for the Xbox 360 have helped the console surge ahead of the PlayStation 3 in the US, but Nintendo's formats are still way ahead of both Microsoft and Sony.
However, the lower price for hardware has meant a decline in the market, with hardware sales at USD 498 million for the month of September, compared to USD 546 million for the same period in 2007.
According to data from NPD, the Xbox 360 sold 347,000 units during September, up from 195,200 in August. PlayStation 3 sales were 232,000, compared to 185,000 the previous month.
Nintendo continues to leave its rivals in the dust, with the Wii notching up a further 687,000 sales in the region.
DS sales were more than double the PSP, with 537,000 units sold, compared to 238,000 of Sony's handheld.
"Compared to August, nearly all hardware systems realised an increase in unit sales in September," commented Anita Frazier of NPD.
"The price reduction on the Xbox 360 helped deliver a month-over-month unit sales increase for that platform of 78 per cent."
The entire market for the US, including software and accessories, was down seven per cent to USD 1.27 billion, compared to USD 1.35 billion for September 2007.
"It's important to keep in mind, however, that this month's 7 per cent decline is against a month that itself was up 75 per cent from the prior September. Last year, Halo 3 released in September 2007 and that game had a huge impact on hardware and software sales," added Frazier.
As the sequel to the more than one million unit selling and award-winning football experience, BLITZ: THE LEAGUE II continues the franchise legacy as the ultimate alternative to the watered-down, licensed competition. In addition to an all-new story mode penned by Peter Egan (ESPN's Playmakers), BLITZ: THE LEAGUE II features include: Precision-Aim Tackles, player-controlled touchdown celebrations, an enhanced on-the-field Clash Mode, online multiplayer capabilities, expanded rosters with all-new personalities, and the return of a cornerstone of the Blitz franchise...Late Hits! Football legend Lawrence Taylor returns as the game's cover-athlete and star linebacker for the New York Nightmare, Quentin Sands, along with a star-studded supporting cast
features
Rock out on your drums, but also wail on your guitar or bass all in the same game
A broad range of music styles
40 songs on disc, with downloadable songs and song packs available after initial release
Stunning unique and authentic venues
Up to 15 cool and realistic characters
Online and offline multiplayer: versus, co-op and band battle
Rehearsal mode: practice sections of songs at different speeds
Career mode: play songs, learn techniques, create set lists and complete challenges
Online persistent scoreboards allow performance comparison with other players around the world
The most realistic drum peripheral on the market, created by real musicians for an overall hard hitting experience
description
Release your inner rockstar or allow your friends the privilege of picking up an axe or pounding the skins with you to over 40 mind bending rock and roll tracks! Unleash your creative juices in the Jam Mode where you can create your own music in a state of the art multi-track studio! This is the musical revolution the world has been waiting for!
Here we go, for the umpteenth time: A quote published by Japanese investment research firm Morningstar that Konami was "actively looking" to bring MGS4 to Xbox 360 has now disappeared from the record. This comes to light on the same day that Microsoft's Software and Services VP John Schappert said that the Xbox 360 could run the game.
GameCyte details that the Kabushiki business journal, which is owned by Morningstar, now quotes a different Konami rep. and completely ignores the topic. The company is calling the new article a "second appearance" rather than a correction.
It seems when Namco Bandai told us Darth Vader and Yoda would remain trapped in their respective console domains, it was only true ... from a certain point of view. The company has shockingly confirmed that, due to "overwhelming fan response," those suspiciously blank character portraits in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Soulcalibur IV will soon be filled in by a downloadable Darth Vader or Yoda. Good job, fans, we're sure Namco would never have figured out how to make money like this on its own.
The proper Star Wars showdown will begin on October 23rd, provided you're willing to pay 400 and $5 for a hyperventilating throat crusher and his little green friend, respectively. And just so we can work in another tedious reference, we'll add: We pray Namco doesn't alter the deal any further. Good one, us!
In this week's look at the New Xbox Experience, Microsoft's Larry Hryb chats with XNA Community Manager Kathleen Sanders about how XNA Community games will function within the Xbox Live revamp, due out November 19th. Aside from the fact that the community games will have their own channel, the video really just plays like an overview of the community creation program in general. Not really all that much of an update, but it's nice to know they're on their way.
We've heard from industry insiders that Microsoft US is increasing the minimum limit of games which need to be produced for each Xbox 360 game to 50,000 units. This will enable Microsoft to claim that for every Xbox 360 game released in the US the company will apparently make US$300,000. In Japan, the minimum amount required of an Xbox 360 game is supposedly 6,000 units.
What does that mean? Smaller Japanese developers, who seem to have warmed up to the Xbox 360 of late, that might have been tempted to develop for the Xbox 360 for the first time due to PSP/DS piracy problems and could shift their attentions to other platforms like cell phones. The reason being that those smaller developer would have a difficult time bringing niche titles to a US market at the newly imposed minimum limit. The other bad thing is that this Microsoft US requirement means small studios won't be able take chances on risky game titles or ideas.
features
Shear off limbs with powerful weapons as you carve a bloody path through the alien hordes
Find ways to neutralize attacking enemies effectively or they'll keep coming at you
A blood-curdling interactive horror experience features state-of-the art graphics and effects, a panic-inducing audio system, and a truly frightening atmosphere of death and despair
Battle relentless enemies and crack challenging puzzles in unprecedented zero-gravity environments that reinvent survival horror
Cut through the harrowing mystery to stop the alien onslaught
description
When an immense mining ship, the USG Ishimura, comes into contact with a mysterious alien artifact in Dead Space, its communications with Earth are mysteriously cut off. Engineer Isaac Clarke is sent to repair the Ishimura's communications array, but he arrives to find a living nightmare—the ship is a floating bloodbath, the crew unspeakably mutilated and infected by an ancient alien scourge. Clarke's repair mission becomes one of survival as he fights not just to save himself, but to return the artifact to the planet … at any cost.
features
Polished, refined gameplay - Featuring 250 additions and enhancements to core gameplay, including new animation technology that creates more responsive first-time shooting and passing, faster and more controlled dribbling, and improved trapping.
Custom Team Tactics —Become a first-team coach with the power to tune and balance 11 tactical sliders for 140 attacking and 40 defending options (more than 50,000 combinations) so CPU players and your team perform just like the real-world team or how you think the real team should play.
Be A Pro: Seasons — Pick or create a professional player and test your soccer ability over a four season campaign. Master a single position and develop your skills -- passing, shooting, positioning, marking – to ultimately become a national legend.
Be A Pro: 10 vs 10 Online Team Play — Create your own team of up to 10 friends all playing fixed outfield positions to challenge rival teams of up to 10 players.
Improved Goalkeeper Intelligence – Goalkeepers position themselves more intelligently, react to shots more realistically and recover from saves faster.
Customized Controllers – Create your own bespoke controller configuration, save it and even take it online effortlessly. Assign actions to the buttons exactly how you like them for complete control.
description
Step onto the pitch and play professional soccer your way in FIFA Soccer 09. Experience the most authentic soccer simulation EA SPORTS™ has delivered as you live the fantasy of playing as a professional player and customize the game to suit your style and ability.
Powered by the third generation of the EA SPORTS football engine, FIFA Soccer 09 features more than 250 core gameplay additions and enhancements that deliver the most responsive, intelligent and realistic action ever for the series.
Enjoy turning defenders with more controlled dribbling and ball control, snapping off precision shots with improved first-time shooting mechanics and firing beautifully timed passes with greater accuracy, placing the ball exactly where you want it.
features
Beast riding and combat: Command an array of deadly and magical beasts as you cut down your enemies
Brutal melee action: Wield sword and axe as you unleash barbaric killing moves and dismembering attacks
Spells and magic weapons: Upgrade your weaponry and unlock powerful element-based spells and magic
Harsh and desolate landscapes: Explore and survive a ravaged and ancient world composed of distinct looking destructible environments
Classic Golden Axe legacy: Play as the young warrior Tyris Flare in a magical world of beasts, encounter familiar friends and enemies, and collect power-ups from the pesky gnomes in this re-imagined SEGA classic
description
One of SEGA's most popular franchises storms onto the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system with Golden Axe: Beast Rider™. As the unstoppable Tyris Flare, engage in vicious melee combat both on foot and atop massive mythical beasts, savaging enemies with blades and magic on a quest for vengeance.
features
Rebuild the Saints and seek revenge against rivals to reestablish your crew as the rightful kings of Stilwater
Customize your crib, recruit your gang, and set your swagger using countless combination’s of character configuration
Protect yourself with human shields, throw rivals into oncoming traffic and zero-in your nut-shot using all-new Fine Aim controls
Build your empire with private jets, speedboats, and helicopters or strafe the hood of your rival’s monster truck from the comfort of your fighter plane
Discover both the familiar and strange in a revitalized Stilwater as you taunt, mug and streak your way through the city
Send a message to your enemies using an arsenal of rocket launchers, shock-paddles, stun-guns, and satchel-charges
Complete the campaign in two-player co-op, or multiply the mayhem with online open-world gameplay
description
Five years have passed since your former Saints crew betrayed you. As you awake from a coma for the first time since that fateful day, you find the Stilwater you once ruled is in disarray. Unfamiliar gangs have laid claim to your territory, rival factions have taken over your rackets, and cash-hungry corporations have laid waste to your once proud 3rd Street home. Abandoned and left scarred with an unrecognizable face, you seek out a plastic surgeon to begin your new life on the streets of Stilwater.
Respect can only be earned in Stilwater, and that requires a lifestyle that reflects your unique personality. Your crib, your crew, and your character define who you are on the streets and how you are perceived. The image you portray is as important as the decisions you make in a city ruled by false bravado and impulsive behavior. The only constant is the need for an identity that reflects your individuality and is backed up by your 12 gauge.
Style and image can only take you so far in a world where actions speak louder than words. Sometimes sending a message to your enemies requires heavy lifting, like that of a rival gang member into oncoming traffic. Respect in Stilwater needs to be taken, and what better way than to grab it from the hands of a gang full of enemies by means of a satchel charge.
The fight to reclaim Stilwater does not have to be waged alone. The Saints once ruled these streets as a crew of brothers, and their return to the top can help be secured through co-operative alliances. The time has finally come to seek revenge against your rivals to reestablish your crew as the rightful kings of Stilwater.
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 lets players develop the WWE Superstars of today into the Legends of tomorrow. The No. 1 wrestling franchise in the world delivers more depth and strategy with prominent new features, key annual enhancements and incredible graphics while making its much-anticipated debut on three new video game systems. It’s time to live the life of a Superstar. How will you play?
features
Limited Edition red finish, with newly designed black accents
Bundled with a Play & Charge Cable and matching red rechargeable battery pack
2.4GHz wireless technology with 30-foot range
Use up to four controllers simultaneously on one console
Integrated headset port for Xbox Live play
Adjustable vibration feedback for longer battery life
New left and right shoulder buttons are designed for ease of use
Use the Xbox 360 Guide button to keep track of your friends, access your games and media, or power on and off your Xbox 360 console
description
The award-winning Xbox 360 Wireless Controller now comes in red, with newly designed black accents. Experience wireless gaming from up to 30 feet and enjoy nonstop play with the included Play and Charge cable and red rechargeable battery.
features
This Signature Series Guide features a comprehensive walkthrough of the entire game.
In-depth area maps
Detailed vehicle showroom
Expert multiplayer strategies
Signature Series guide includes bonus content, exclusive foldout and more!
Platforms: Playstation3, Xbox 360
Yeah, that's right. I'm playing Wii Music. Nearly snapped these puny wrists off last night, wailing away on the Dog Suit to the tune of "Grandfather's Clock." A rollicking good time that you'll hear more about next week when the review hits. Also on deck is Midnight Club Los Angeles, which... you'll hear more about next week when the review hits. There might be a little Peggle Nights thrown in there, just for giggles.
What about you? Got some heavy gaming plans for the weekend? Let us know in the comments.
Play Halo 3 Like You Mean It. Really get into the game with this Limited Edition Halo 3 Wireless Controller. There are two different controllers available, both showcasing stunning original artwork from comic book master Todd McFarlane. Go for the Spartan theme featuring Master Chief, or the Covenant Brute featuring a Brute Chief. This controller comes with an exclusive collectible Halo 3 figurine from McFarlane Toys, and the controller is only available for a limited time. Hook it up with the Limited Edition Halo 3 Wireless Headset and make Master Chief proud.
There's a very interesting article over at Eludamos, one of the open-access academic journals that's done a nice job of getting fascinating articles in each issue; this volume is no exception, and the article I found particularly thought provoking is on the issue of death in narrative-driven games. Jason Tocci isn't arguing that the death mechanic has no place in games, but it's a cop out for many narrative-driven games — and can create frustrating gaming experiences for end users. This is, in Tocci's view, a hold over from earlier design decisions when games were more limited in what they could do:
The way that videogames have dealt with failure, primarily through protagonist death and trial-and-error, has generally been more concerned with games as rule sets than with games as narratives. As a result, games which appear to tell stories often become incoherent, bringing narrative progression to a halt, eliciting frustration with gameplay rather than engagement with fiction. Despite what some may charge, however, this is not an inherent bias of the medium. The die-and-retry approach is a shortcut in game design, a holdover from an era when games were more limited in their ability to tell stories. This convention now imposes an artificial limitation, even as alternative methods of dealing with failure have been exercised in some games.
This argument should not be taken to suggest that all games ought to be narrative-oriented games, that trial-and-error has no place in modern videogames, or that all games should be so concerned with preserving an illusion of boundless choices .... This article simply seeks to argue that universal models of game enjoyment that would lump such a game in with Tetris fail to acknowledge that such games ultimately offer different appeals.
I don't agree with all of his points, but it's certainly a thought provoking article (if lengthier than the usual posted on Kotaku). The design-related conversation over the role of death in games is one worth having, and this is one of the more well-written pieces I've read on the issue. Eladumos in general is worth having bookmarked — it's a young journal, but a solid one.
Hi, there. time to pull up a chair, pour yourself a drink and chat. No, wait. Pour yourself two drinks and pull up three chairs. That's right, time for Tell Us Dammit — rather, TELL US DAMMIT. Here's how it works: We ask a question, you answer it. Simple and no strings attached! This isn't some marketing survey or whatever. It's an emotional investment in you. Yes, we're interested in knowing you, Kotaku reader person. You probably know ****tons about us — more than you even want to, we're sure. But, hey, we'd like to know about you. That way you won't be some faceless blob — and we might feel a tinge of guilt when we ban your ass. Or not, because really we're incapable of human emotion. Yeah.
As we lurch towards the end of the year, what releases are you looking forward to the most?
Our gentlemen callers at Gizmodo got to spend some time with the new Gears of War Zune the other day. While fondling it, they were chatting with Microsoft's marketing director for Zune Jason Reindorp, who assured them that a big "step up" in Zune/360 integration will be taking place "within a year". Whether that means the Zune may actually become useful is another matter, but hey, further integration with its more-successful console sibling can't hurt the little guy.
September marked the Xbox 360's best month of 2008, in terms of sales in the U.S — its performance in Japan hasn't been too bad either. Following a price cut that made the 360 the least expensive current generation console on the market, the company moved 347,200 units to American consumers. While it wasn't enough to supplant the Wii as the best selling console in the country, it was enough to beat the competition from Sony.
We spoke to Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for Xbox 360, just after NPD sales numbers hit to get his take. Unsurprisingly, he seemed rather pleased with the company's recent hardware successes.
"We expect to continue our price advantage over the PlayStation 3 for a long time," Greenberg told us, pointing to the $199 price tag of the company's entry level Arcade console, assuming that Sony would issue no pre-holiday price drops. "And we feel confident that we'll outsell the PS3 this holiday season in North America and in Europe. We'll do it on a global scale."
Cast your minds back to February, and you'll remember some excitement surrounding the revelation Starbreeze had been tapped by EA to work on one of the company's "classic" franchises. Some comments by EA boss John Riccitiello made it seem like that franchise was Road Rash, but CVG now say that - according to a "secret agent" - it's not. It is instead Syndicate, which EA didn't develop (Peter Molyneux's Bullfrog did), but which they do own the rights to. Exciting news, if also a little terrifying, since the chances of another studio capturing the feel of the original are - as we've already seen - slim.
In its latest developer diary, Microsoft's Gamerscore Blog highlights the NXE Community Games Channel, which we've heard about since February 2008. The separate channel will let theoretically anyone who submits a game and passes peer review to sell their title to other Xbox 360 owners (with Microsoft, unsurprisingly, taking a little bit off the top).
What is surprising to us is that the peer review process there's only 48 hours between the time of submission and release on the channel, a much shorter time frame than Microsoft's weeks-long certification process for Xbox Live Arcade games and title updates. Video embedded after the break; the New Xbox Experience launches November 19.
Mr Modchips have today put online the new version of Infectus the Modchip for Wii, PS3 and Xbox360: You also have to be logged in to see and buy this product:
InFeCtuS 2 is the latest development of the versatile InFeCtuS modchip created to work with many different consoles.
InFeCtuS developed this modchip with an OPEN concept, they used a core reprogrammable board, a 512kb flash on board and an USB interface for the PC communication.
Specs:
The hardware has a very high quality component design:
The core of InFeCtuS 2 is the new ACTEL ProASIC3 FAMILY, the new family after the famous APA075 used in the past in many PS2 projects.
We used a 512Kb parallel flash SSTSF040, with a high transfer rate and performance.
Finally, we have got a REAL USB2.0 processor. This high quality component can manage the communication between ACTEL and PC (mini usb connector).
All of the chip PLD/FLASH/USB parts are 100% reprogrammable via USB communication.
For security reasons, all of the applications stored in the flash are AES 128-bit encrypted, to protect our work against chinese market!
The project is produced in Europe with the last technology of BSDL testing.
The new InFeCtuS 2 modchip
Being InFeCtuS 2 so versatile, we want to show you at least a little part of its features, ordered by console.
XBOX360 SUPPORT:
X360 CPU TIME ATTACK + DOWNGRADE DASHBOARD (you need the downgrade ADDON)
Allows to gain total access over the XBOX360 flash driver, so that you can read and write the internal flash of any X360 DVD READER in the market.
Everything can be managed with a very simple and user friendly PC software.
COMPLETE SUPPORT OF BENQ DRIVERS
FLASH ID realtime patching, your xbox360 cannot understand if there is any flash running other than the original one.
GLOBE MODCHIP 360 100% emulation including ON / OFF LED
PS3 SUPPORT:
The first work to be done is to allow our users to flash directly the PS3 BIOS by USB. So no more problem with firmwares, you can install everything you want, when you want. All the complications due to firmware versions that cannot be downgraded will not bother you anymore.
Another new feature that we want to add is a REAL TIME patching of the firmware part that you want to be emulated from the chip. Being the 512Kb flash not enough to store a real dual firmware, we'll have to wait for the first hacked firmware to understand if a "realtime" patching will be possible. In case we won't be able to find more ideas, a new version of InFeCtuS 2 with a memory expantion bay will be released
PS2 SUPPORT:
Complete O2 MODCHIP emulation 100% with all functionalities (www.o2mod.com) - Included for FREE
WII SUPPORT:
WII D2C 13 wire modchip, implemented on InFeCtuS 2 the ARGON firmware
SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT:
The possibility to manage the features using an easy software is one of the BIG advantages of this modchip solution!
WIZARD help for the users: you will simply follow software's instruction step by step, everyone would be able to install and manage the InFeCtuS 2 MOD.
When you will be ready to install InFeCtuS 2 on a DVD DRIVE 078 XBOX360 FIRMWARE, the software will assist you with a 100% automated extraction of the key and the patch of new firmware.
WIZARD configuration based on XML for an automatical update of last firmwares.
X360 FIRMWARE checksum, the software will tell you if you are actually using the correct firmware (this feature is only available in WIZARD procedure)
HELP section to allow an easy searching of X360 firmwares
Comes with:
InFeCtuS 2 2.0 modchip
Programmer
JTAG cable (for between modchip and programmer)
As you play your beloved Super Mario game tapes, your Nintendo Box drains energy from earth's dwindling supply. It's a well-known scientific fact that at our current rate of consumption, Earth will be returned to an archaic wasteland within thirty years, when feared energy pirates will travel between the planet's ruined cities, plundering precious fuel for their own contemptible settlements. Luckily, the Environmental Protection Agency has a plan to combat our wasteful ways.
The EPA hopes to include modern home gaming consoles in their Energy Star plan which has been regulating the energy usage of certain home appliances since 1992. The latest draft of the plan addresses the power consumption rates of Wiis, Xbox 360s and PS3s, requiring an auto-off function, a sleep mode, and low-energy network settings in all consoles produced after July 1, 2010. We certainly hope the plan is adopted, lest we be left to our seemingly inevitable, Mad Max-esque fate.
So this week I bought MLB Stickball on XBLA. There's only one reason I'd do that, and you correctly guessed it. You see, in the old days, when you came home from a bar lit up, your impulse buys were limited to 1-800 blue screen ads. And calling an operator and fishing out a credit card for Time/Life's series on the Old West, Kitchens and Bathrooms and Daddy-What's-Vietnam ("A question a child might ask ... but not a childish question.") just doesn't pack the kind of instant gratification wallop of buying a video game instantly with fake currency on XBLA.
Attempts by supermarket chain J Sainsbury to boost sales by selling Wii and Xbox 360 game consoles at a loss have backfired after store managers from a rival retailer hijacked the promotion by buying nearly 1,000 of the discounted consoles.
The promotion, which was launched on the final day of Sainsbury’s second-quarter trading period, saw the retailer slash £30 off the price of the Xbox 360 and reduce the cost of the popular Wii from £179.99 to £149.97.
Retail executives estimate that Sainsbury’s was losing around £10 on every Wii sold.
Below-cost selling is a rare, but not unknown, tactic used by supermarket chains to drive shoppers into stores.
It is a high-risk tactic, which can prove costly, if shoppers only buy the discounted item.
Details of Sainsbury’s promotion leaked onto the internet two days before it launched allowing Game to alert its store managers
Lisa Morgan, the chief executive of Game, confirmed that the retailer’s store managers had bought almost 1,000 of the estimated 2,000 consoles sold by Sainsbury’s. The consoles were later resold in Game stores.
“With 360 and Wii on sale at these prices we allowed our store managers to supplement their stock by buying consoles from their local Sainsbury’s,” said Morgan.
“Availability was very inconsistent, but on the whole it was a worthwhile exercise.”
Reports in the gaming industry claim that staff from other retailers including Gamestation and Chips also bought up the consoles, as well as managers from Game.
A spokesman for Sainsbury’s claimed it was a very successful promotion. “We sold out,” she said. The spokesman refused to comment on whether the consoles had been sold at a loss or whether they had been snapped up by Game managers.
We're already well acquainted with the idea of Wiis (and their remotes) injuring humans and TV sets. Now the UK's Telegraph is reporting that game systems are also causing a veritable epidemic of injuries to pets. A survey of 3,000 British pet owners shows that a full 10% of pets were injured by a Wii , while 8.3% sustained PlayStation-related injuries and 5.8% got injured by a DS.
Even accounting for some overlap between systems, those numbers would seem to suggest that British veterinarians are being overrun by little critters who chewed through component cables, swallowed portable systems, tripped on controller cords and the like. The numbers are much less worrying, though, when you consider the source for the survey: pet insurance provider PetPlan. Reminds us of that used car dealer who told us rust-proofing would increase the resale value of our car by 50% -- just not that credible. We still got the rust-proofing, though. When it comes to our Fiat, our motto is: better safe than sorry.
The only way I would ever let a child of mine play a game over Xbox Live with voice chat enabled is if Microsoft created some kind of magical audio filtering technology that could sense dirty words as they were being spoken and censor them in real-time. Good for them then, as the U.S. Patent Office just approved a patent from Microsoft for exactly that. Applied for back in 2004, the patent describes a method by which:
An input audio data stream comprising speech is processed by an automatic censoring filter in either a real-time mode, or a batch mode, producing censored speech that has been altered so that undesired words or phrases are either unintelligible or inaudible.
Personally I would prefer one that replaces offensive speech with happier phrases, but technology can only go so far. "Daddy, he called me a mother hugging rainbow pony!" Of course he did son. Of course he did.
Game developer Yoshiki Okamoto is best known for his years at Konami and Capcom, where he worked on titles like Gyruss and Forgotten Worlds as well as his involvement in Final Fight and Street Fighter II. He's an industry vet and has been around. When he looks at the current Japanese game landscape, Okamoto says there's at least one thing that does not compute:
Rockstar is not unsuccessful in Japan, but their success here is on a much smaller scale than elsewhere in the world market. The low Japanese sales of the sandbox-style GTA series simply do not make any sense to me.
features
All previously purchased Rock Band download tracks will immediately load into your Rock Band 2 song list, with no need to re-purchase or re-download
The biggest and most diverse soundtrack ever features some of rock's most prolific acts, comprised entirely of master recordings
The new and dynamic online modes will connect the entire Rock Band community in more ways than ever before both locally and globally
Get ready for new and improved drum and guitar peripherals, enhanced functionality, and innovative new designs, all fully compatible with the original Rock Band instruments
description
Rock Band 2 builds upon its foundation as the first music game to introduce co-operative band gameplay, multiple instruments, a robust online multiplayer experience, an unrivaled offering of downloadable content, and raises the bar by delivering an entirely new level of depth, connectivity, and authenticity
features
Get Rich Quick — In this all-new, super-fast version, trade properties and compete in exciting mini-games to see who makes the top of the rich list!
Group Play — Up to four players can simultaneously join in on the “rags to riches” fun.
Monopoly Past, Present & Future — The most extensive collection of MONOPOLY boards all in one package – from the newest MONOPOLY HERE & NOW: The World Edition to classic MONOPOLY.
Now Boarding — Fill up your passport as you play to unlock new and never-before-seen MONOPOLY boards.
description
Celebrating over 70 years of family fun, the legendary property trading game MONOPOLY® is hitting video game consoles in a whole new way! The world’s most popular board game returns in 2008 with MONOPOLY® HERE & NOW: The World Edition, a modern makeover of the classic game. With a host of current-day cities and landmarks from all over the world, this new version will let players wheel and deal and compete to own some of the most recognized locales on Earth. EA brings this exciting new edition of the beloved board game to video game consoles for the first time along with entirely new features that focus on super-fast play, fun and interactive mini-games and four-player simultaneous gameplay. Players can now host the ultimate MONOPOLY night with family and friends.
Clearly confident following worldwide price cuts, sales success and multiple bundles for retail, Microsoft has stated that the Xbox 360 will outsell the PlayStation 3 this Christmas.
Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for Xbox 360, has told Kotaku that the company expects the system to beat its rival in all major territories, not just North America.
"We expect to continue our price advantage over the PlayStation 3 for a long time," said Greenberg.
"And we feel confident that we'll outsell the PS3 this holiday season in North America and in Europe. We'll do it on a global scale."
With all three SKUs reduced in price, it's perhaps not surprising that the cheapest console – which sells for under USD 199 in the US and GBP 129 in the UK – is performing very well for Microsoft.
"We've seen lifts across all consoles, but the Arcade is doing exceptionally well," added Greenberg.
The system is currently outselling Sony's home console in Japan and the US. Figures from Media Create show the Xbox 360 has outsold the PS3 for the fifth week running in Japan.
During September, US sales of the Xbox 360 were 347,000 units, compared to 232,000 PlayStation 3 units.
November 19 is the big day for 360 owners looking forward to the flashy New Xbox Experience backend. But you may not have to wait that long to get hold of it.
Major Nelson - MS' official Xbox blog - is teasing early access to NXE if you "keep an eye on" the blog.
In a recent podcast, MS said: "...I know you as my audience, you guys, you like to pick up and play. You want to get your hands on it and I don't blame you because you'll enjoy it. In fact, if you want to get your hands on it, let me just say this... keep an eye on my blog next week.
"If you want to get your hands on it early, that's all I'm going to say," Nelson reaffirmed (via Gameplay Unlimited).
And that really is all he says, not giving away any further clues as to how access will be given, or how limited.
We would imagine something as major (no pun intended) as a console backend would simply be too complicated for a game-like beta program, but it looks like Microsoft might be about to prove us wrong.
Lionhead has confirmed that a patch enabling online co-op in Fable II will go live tomorrow, 21st October.
That's according to the Lionhead community blog, which has provided running updates on the multiplayer feature that once looked likely to be missing at launch.
Fable II will be released across Europe this Friday, after much talk of dogs and emotions and shooting husbands and revolutionary this and simplified that.
Thankfully, this time, Peter Molyneux appears to have delivered the goods.
Head over to our Fable II review for an overwhelming tale of success.
As part of an exclusive NPD analysis, Gamasutra is estimating that the average U.S. Xbox 360 console is selling for $100 less than its lifetime average 3 months ago, making the system "ideally positioned" to compete this holiday season.
The price cuts worked: 69,000 Xbox 360 systems were sold each week during September, giving Microsoft its best hardware month this year. What is far more telling, however, is how the average price of each system sold changed after the price drop.
According to the NPD Group, the average sale price (ASP) of an Xbox 360 from its launch through July 2008 was just over $376. We estimate that the ASP was in the $330 to $340 range during August.
For September, we estimate that the ASP of the Xbox 360 dropped to $276, about $100 below its lifetime average and more than $50 below its average before the price drop.
If our estimates are correct, then this signals an even greater role for the $200 Arcade model in Microsoft's hardware mix.
Yes, yes - Gears of War 2 has begun showing up on popular torrent sites across the internets, with a gigantic 6.76 GB file in convenient RAR format currently being seeded by hundreds of inconsiderate asshats around the world. I won't go into details because quite frankly I've gotten to the point where I don't even consider leaks news anymore. It's going to happen, be it a week away from release or a month away. The only difference between now and any other time of the year is that more high-profile games come out during the holiday season, which I suppose means this is a busy time for everyone in the industry, pirates included.
I think the most important thing to note in this post is that my spellchecker (yes, I use one) still fails to recognize asshat as a proper word. I know I can add it in myself, but that isn't the point. Until the word is officially recognized these leak posts will continue to make me a spellchecker rebel, living on the edge, clicking 'skip all' like some kind of madman.
Microsoft has whipped a Scene It? Box Office Smash demo onto Xbox Live.
There's no mention of whether this sampler will work without the buzzer peripherals from the first game, but we assume using a Xbox 360 pad will be fine.
Box Office Smash is the Buzz!-alike sequel to Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action, which threw all sorts of film-related clips at players and then quizzed them about what they saw.
The sequel is bigger and better, and also has online multiplayer, downloadable content and support for those NXE avatars due to arrive on 19th November.
As for when Scene It? Box Office Smash will arrive: late November seems to be the retailer estimate. We'll let you know when Microsoft stamps an official date on the game.
Let this be a reminder: Bungie is no longer Microsoft's plaything. In an interview with GameIndustry.biz, Community Director Brian Jarrard indicated that once Halo 3 Recon is out the door late next year, the team working on it will move into territory unknown. "But I think when this project wraps up in a couple of months that will be the time when that team moves on to something else, and part of that team will move on to something else and part of them will probably be absorbed into one of the other projects that are already on the way," he said.
Granted, there's a lot of time between now and the Fall 2009 Halo 3 Recon release, so Bungie will be knee-deep in Halo for another year, at least. Provided none of Bungie's other teams tackle the space-loop saga, Microsoft has already assembled a new dream team to keep Halo alive.
All those high-profile games leaks - just how do they happen? Well, here is one way...
An employee of games packaging specialists Technicolor has been arrested in connection with the theft of 100 unreleased copies of Gears of War 2 and Fable 2.
An investigation into the theft led Memphis police detectives to follow security guard Rodney Gray when he left his apartment on Thursday. After pulling him over for outstanding driving offences he was found to have a number of games in a bag he was carrying. A search of his apartment revealed games and DVDs valued at over $100,000.
Dr. Phil loves the video games, or rather the amount of attention gamers give him when he talks about them. In today's episode he tackles the dangers of computer game addiction, with the entire show dedicated to people who play games when they probably shouldn't be. The show starts with a virtual Dr. Phil complete with a sword and hair talking about how virtual games let you escape from reality before launching into the story of l34-year-old Fred, who sits at home and plays World of Warcraft all day while his wife supports their three children.
“Apparently he’s got you supporting him and taking care of the house. I wonder what level that is in the real world,” Dr. Phil quips.
Other stories include a 41-year-old man who accumulated $24,000 in debt and attempted suicide, the author of the book "Game Widows", and the return of special guest Liz, whose 21-year-old son killed himself while playing Everquest. Hit the link for the full show notes.
The new ALL-IN-ONE 360 Xtractor tool is here, It supports a POWER KIT + SERIAL RS232 & USB Tool in one, throw away anything else you have been using until now, as this device is all you need to update or reflash your 360 drives safely.
Are you at work? Really? Didn't you know today was a holiday? Yep, in Redmond at least, it's Global Anti-Piracy Day. To celebrate, there will be simultaneous "legal actions, education efforts and customer reactions announced across 49 countries." Microsoft has actually picked a pretty great way to fight pirates: If there's one thing they hate besides ninjas, it's the law and schoolin'
Ahh, customer service, it ain't what it used to be. Just 10 minutes after plugging his Rock Band instruments into the supplied USB hub, Jim Squires noticed that the cord to the unit was smoldering and had created a totally non-rocking electrical fire.
Upon informing EA of the problem, Squires was told by the company to plug the USB adapter back in to test it. No, seriously, he was. Now Squires is still trying to talk to an actual human at the company to let them know about the whole "the Rock Band adapter could have burned my house down" thing.
Trivia junkies will have a bit longer to get their buzzer fingers in shape (at least one part of you will be!) as Microsoft has revealed that Xbox Live Primetime won't be making it in time for the New Xbox Experience launch next month. According to Forbes, Microsoft says it needs the extra time to "ensure a smooth launch of the system's new user interface."
Poor NXE. First Primetime gets limited to four regions at launch, then we hear movie sharing won't make the date and now Primetime will be altogether absent. By the time Nov. 19 rolls around, is the New Xbox Experience just going to be a bunch of stickmen avatars wandering around an empty gray box? We certainly hope not.
We're starting to get comfortable with the formerly apocalyptic notion that the Xbox 360 is finding success a niche in Japan. Famitsu Marketing data (via GameDaily) shows that year-over-year growth of the console has been an impressive 157% during the first seven months of this year.
Of course, with a fairly low Xbox 360 user base to begin with in Japan, a large percentage increase in sales doesn't mean much. The console has sold 748,992 and Microsoft hopes to hit the million milestone "as soon as possible." The console has seen significant sales spikes this year, thanks to Tales of Vesperia and Infinite Undiscovery. We've placed the Japanese lifetime unit sales after the break for comparison.
According to a report by market researchers Odyssey, music games have now overtaken sports titles as the second-most played genre/category in video games. While 62% of surveyed gamers said they played sports games in 2005, that figure was down to only 50% in 2008. Which puts them behind the increasingly popular music games – such as Rock Band, SingStar and Guitar Hero – that 58% of surveyed gamers said they’d played. The decline in the sporting market would be troubling for EA if they, you know. Didn’t also help put out Rock Band. As for the top-selling category/genre, that’s still “action games”, which 65% of surveyed gamers had partaken in.
Yes! Let's! A report issued by Famitsu publishers and all-round industry analyst types Enterbrain has given us the lifetime sales figures for the current generation of Japanese consoles. Handhelds, too. And, just for good measure, the PS2. They serve to put a few recent trends into perspective. For one, the 360 - which is the fastest-growing console in the country, with sales up 157% in recent months - has still been outsold by the PS3 3:1. And for all the PSP's recent chart domination, the DS is still kicking its ass. And that's not even counting DS Phat sales.
In a poll marking the launch of this year's London Games Festival, more than 500 UK gamers voted for their favorite video game character of all time, and the results may shock you. Or they may not. Sonic the Hedgehog came out on top in the poll with a whopping 24%, which isn't all that surprising really. After all, despite his rash of bad games lately, Sonic is still a rambunctious little scamp, and if there's anything the UK likes it's rambunctious little scamps. Hell, they pretty much invented them over there.
Filling out the list we have Super Mario (none of this normal Mario bullshit) with 21%, Lara Croft with 16%, with Donkey Kong, Pac Man, Link, Max Payne (what?), Pikachu, Niko Belic, and Blanka taking up the rear. Hit the jump for the percentage breakdowns.
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®.
Game 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.
The Asian version of Circle of Doom spots a multi-language system. While the voices are all in English, you can choose your subtitles from a wide range of languages: English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, French, Italian and German.
As our weekly special, Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom is sold at a bargain price of US$ 14.90 only.
features
The Dunia Engine was built specifically for Far Cry® 2 by the award-winning Ubisoft Montréal development team. It delivers the most realistic destructible environments and amazing special effects
Real-time story telling, systemic auto-healing, minimal in-game interface are just few of the features that will make you feel the tension of being alone against barbarous warlords that threaten thousands of innocent lives
from a wide range of weapons to make your way to your primary target. Meet the fight head-on with your machine-gun, go berserk with your machete or make stealth kills as a Sniper
description
Caught between two rival factions in war-torn Africa, you are sent to take out "The Jackal", a mysterious character who has rekindled the conflict between the warlords, jeopardizing thousands of lives. In order to fulfil your mission you will have to play the factions against each other, identify and exploit their weaknesses, and neutralise their superior numbers and firepower with surprise, subversion, cunning and, of course, brute force
features
Choices, consequences: Fable II expands upon the scope and depth of the Xbox® classic by creating a wider, more complex kingdom of limitless choices and consequences. Players can play as a man or woman, get married, have children, and live a life of their own design—all leading to different consequences
A land far, far away: Revisit the newly expanded world of Albion more than 500 years after the events of the original, where you are free to openly roam the countryside. For the right price, every house, hut, dungeon, and castle is for sale. See how the world grows and changes in incredible and unique ways in response to your decisions, as you rediscover Albion as if for the first time
Fight with ease: The new combat system allows players to truly master hand weapons such as swords and maces, ranged combat weapons including crossbows and guns, and an entirely new magic system. Mix combat styles and become everything from a master swordsman to a skilled ranger to an evil magic wielder, each utilizing a different single button on the Xbox 360® controller
A hero's best friend: Your canine companion acts as friend, compass and protector. Feed your pooch and he will love you unconditionally, creating a bond that sets up emotion-filled journeys throughout the magical world
Experience the world together: For the first time in any next-generation RPG game, experience the expansive and immersive world with friends, using the new and exciting Dynamic Co-op Mode, bringing the long-awaited multiplayer function to the world of Fable II
External mini-games earn in-game gold: Lionhead Studios Ltd. provides an unprecedented experience to gamers through Xbox LIVE® Arcade. Start earning in-game currency for Fable II later this year, even before the game's release to retail, by downloading and playing an Xbox LIVE Arcade title consisting of three mini-games. The Xbox LIVE Arcade title will allow gamers to purchase weapons, armor, and more for their hero. This first-of-its-kind experience can only be found on Xbox LIVE Arcade
description
Fable II is the highly anticipated sequel to the wildly successful original that sold more than three million copies, offering even more choices and building on the core gameplay theme of Fable, where your every decision continually defines who you become. This action role-playing game (RPG) allows you to live the life you choose in the newly expanded open world of Albion. Set 500 years after the original, Fable II delivers an epic story and innovative real-time gameplay, including a massive amount of freedom and choice to explore a vast collection of dungeons, catacombs, and taverns in the world of Albion.
An anonymous tipster has informed Xbox 360 Fanboy that Avatars -- the cute, customizable user characters that will launch with the New Xbox Experience -- will each have their own unique URL (which won't open in Firefox or Safari, by the way). The URLs in question lead to PNG files of a users Avatar. There is a full body image along with two smaller images of user created Avatar Gamerpics. All of them are stored at the site avatar.xboxlive.com, which currently leads to a blank page. Will these images be part of a broader social networking platform?
FIFA 09 has dominated the German and Spanish software sales charts for the week ended October 12, taking up ten of the 20 places available, according to data provided by Media-Control GfK International.
The Spanish chart saw FIFA 09 for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360 and PlayStation Portable take the top four places respectively. Wii Fit came in fifth, followed by Mario Kart Wii at sixth and Wii Play at seventh.
FIFA 09 for the PC took eighth place, while Spore, also for the PC, took ninth and NBA 2K9 for the PS3 closed the chart at ten.
Germany saw FIFA 09 for the PS3 take the top spot, with Sacred 2: Fallen Angel for the PC coming in second place. FIFA 09 on the PS2, Xbox 360 and PC came in at third, fourth and fifth respectively.
Wii Fit took sixth place, Warhammer Online for the PC came in seventh, and More Brain Training for the DS came in eighth. Mario Kart Wii secured a spot at number nine and FIFA 09 for the PSP took number ten.
Full Spanish chart follows:
01. FIFA 09 (PS3)
02. FIFA 09 (PS2)
03. FIFA 09 (Xbox 360)
04. FIFA 09 (PSP)
05. Wii Fit (Wii)
06. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
07. Wii Play (Wii)
08. FIFA 09 (PC)
09. Spore (PC)
10. NBA 2K9 (PS3)
Full German chart follows:
01. FIFA 09 (PS3)
02. Sacred 2: Fallen Angel (PC)
03. FIFA 09 (PS2)
04. FIFA 09 (Xbox 360)
05. FIFA 09 (PC)
06. Wii Fit (Wii)
07. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC)
08. Dr Kawashima: More Brain Training (DS)
09. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
10. FIFA 09 (PSP)
Capcom, teasingly, has told us Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix will arrive on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 "very soon".
The publisher couldn't clarify an exact date, however - presumably due to unpredictable XBLA and PSN certification processes.
SSFII Turbo HD Remix is, of course, a revamp of the fighting game from 1994 - the first of the series to feature Akuma and super combo moves. Super Street Fighter II also introduced characters Cammy, Dee Jay, Fei Long and T. Hawk, while the Turbo part of the name added faster and more difficult combat.
The HD Remix brings 1080p redrawn graphics to the gable, plus a remixed OCR soundtrack and plenty of OCD tweaks to the painstakingly balanced fighting formula.
Atari has stamped a 31st October date on the Xbox 360 version of Legendary.
The PS3 and PC versions have been pushed back to November, however, although the publisher was unavailable to tell us why or when exactly they would arrive.
Legendary is the man versus myth shooter by Spark Unlimited. This is the same developer - albeit a different team - responsible for the dreadful Turning Point: Fall of Liberty.
The idea is that Pandora's Box has been found and opened, subsequently unleashing griffin, werewolves, and all sorts of nasties in modern day New York and London.
We had a go recently and were relatively pleased with what we saw: a no-frills, honest-John shooter where a man with guns fights beasts with teeth.
Head over to our Legendary preview to find out more. That's just what it's called, we're not big-headed or anything.
I have this thing about instruction manuals. For some reason, I refuse to look at it when setting up a new gadget no matter how complicated things are. I break down eventually when I get stuck, but there is no reason why I shouldn't go to it right off the bat and save some time. Maybe it's a man thing, maybe it's because I'm not patient enough to read before digging into a new device—maybe it's both. Whatever the reason, I don't think I will ever change. But what about you? Do you read your gadget or Games instruction manuals?
We hear you, Star Wars fans. We know that when you looked at the announcement of Star Wars: The Old Republic and didn't see the "Xbox 360" or "PS3" categories, your heart broke just a little bit. But hey, looks like they're at the top of this post, aren't they?! Unfortunately, this post is devoted not to making your dreams come true, but telling you that EA is "considering" bringing TOR and Warhammer Online to consoles.
More specifically, Electronic Arts exec Frank Gibeau said, "We're definitely looking at the opportunity to bring the MMO experience to console, without question." So, we hope that answers your question: EA definitely, maybe, kind of could bring The Old Republic to consoles. Maybe.
Is there some point at which an XBLA game has enough girth to drop that adorable "Arcade" moniker and just be, you know, a game? Weighing in at 629 MB, Portal: Still Alive seems to be pretty close to that limit. That means that if you're not sporting a hard drive in your 360, you're pretty much out of luck. It also means that the previously announced 350 MB limit has just been kicked in the teeth.
Still Alive is almost double the last King of Bytes: EA Sports Fantasy Football Live Draft Tracker, which boasted a comparatively paltry 334 MB. We've put a line out to Microsoft to see if this is a one-time thing or a new policy -- we'll let you know what we hear.
Dear retailers, we're so sorry that you're running low on space on your shelves for music games. Sadly (for you, at least) it simply doesn't matter. See, we just surpassed sports in the battle for most popular genre. Fifty-eight percent of those surveyed say they play music games, compared to a paltry 50 percent for sports. The only one left to topple is the action genre and, like 27 pallets of Guitar Hero Aerosmith, it too will fall.
So if you need more shelf space, tell Madden to move his tubby ass to the bargain bin, because we're not going anywhere.
I got into Ace Combat 6 for the Xbox 360 far too late to get in on the hot, flightstick bundle action, and I've been regretting it for months now, especially considering the prices a used model of the special controller have been going for on eBay. Well these guys are going to feel awfully silly now as Namco Bandai announces the return of the Ace Combat 6 Flightstick bundle! Available exclusively at Best Buy, the pack comes complete with Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation, the Hori Ace-Edge flightstick, a custom Xbox 360 faceplate, and a copy of the award-winning aerial combat documentary Speed & Angels. The total package retails for $149.99.
Despite all of the large, useless hunks of plastic littering my living room area, I shall not be truly fulfilled until this flightstick rests on my coffee table, buried under a pile of WoW cards, video game wrapper plastic, and Mountain Dew cans. Thank you Namco Bandai.
Fallout 3 has been cancelled by Microsoft India for release in the region, with the company citing "cultural sensitivities".
Bethesda's post-apocalyptic title has been axed in the region due to unspecified content that Microsoft believes could offend consumers in India. Due to the distribution agreements in the region, Microsoft was set to publish the title on the Xbox 360 itself, while the PlayStation 3 and PC versions were never scheduled to be released.
"Microsoft constantly endeavours to bring the best games to Indian consumers in sync with their international release," said the company in a statement, reported by Gaming Indians. "However, in light of cultural sensitivities in India, we have made the business decision to not bring Fallout 3 into the country."
The latest sequel in the massively popular Fallout series already received much criticism for drug references, which were later removed.
This news breaks shortly after reports that Fallout 3 was leaked online and subsequently distributed through file sharing websites weeks before it's release date.
Microsoft has confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that Gears of War 2 will not see a release in either Germany or Japan.
It has been known for some time that Epic's upcoming highly-anticipated sequel would not pass through Germany's notoriously strict videogames censorship, considering the original title's failure to see a release in the region, however the news that it will not be released in Japan will come as a surprise to some.
This news comes after reports that Gears of War 2 is already being offered on torrent sites, well before its official release.
US retailers Amazon and Gamestop are offering eight free songs to anyone who pre-orders Xbox 360 karaoke game Lips.
The Zune team will choose the songs, according to the Microsoft Gamerscore blog, and offer one new track each week for two months.
There's no word on a European initiative or regular DLC price, but we're seeing the game soon, so expect our thoughts and possible bundle/date confirmation in prompt fashion.
Lips is due out in the US on 14th November according to Amazon and 18th November according to GameStop (fight!), incidentally, and retails for USD 69.99 with the microphones.
The game is, of course, the Xbox 360's rather late answer to SingStar. Developed by iNiS (Gitaroo Man, Ouendan, Elite Beat Agents), the clever bit comes in being able to sing along to music on your console hard drive, iPod or Zune.
We're not sure how, but the correct lyrics pop up, the vocal levels are reduced, and the game even gives a rating at the end of the performance. Wizardry.
Lips also has sparkly, motion-sensitive microphones for friends to wave around while others sign, plus a persistent character element where players eventually level up.
Tom had a chance to sing along after Lips was unveiled at E3. Head over to his lips-on impressions of Lips to find out more.
While there's debate about how much stock should be put in the reviews from Japanese game magazine Famitsu, one cannot deny that they do carry influence for some consumers. The magazine scores games on a numbered scale with 40 being a perfect score — something that only a few titles have ever achieved: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Soulcalibur, Vagrant Story, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Nintendogs, Final Fantasy XII, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Metal Gear Solid 4. http://kotaku.com/5066947/gta-iv-jus...-famitsu-score
Microsoft has announced another value pack for Japan. Last November, a bundle with Viva Piñata and Forza Motorsport 2 was released. This November 6th, a new value pack was drop. Priced at ¥29,800 (US$279), this bundle features a 60GB Xbox 360 along with Ace Combat 6 and Beautiful Katamari in the same game case.
XCM 360 core cooler (add on fan) can be used with XCM High Speed air cooler (more efficiency and powerful) or independently, unlike another brand of external fan,eexternal Xbox 360 fan can only cool the temperature of the Xbox 360's outer surface but does not cool the temperature of the CPU/GPU; therefore, making them useless to combat CPU/GPU overheating.
XCM 360 core cooler directly cools down the temperature from the core (CPU and GPU) of 360 console
The exhaust fan is a high speed fan built into a red LED
Wii Music has debuted atop the Japanese software sales chart for the week ended October 19, according to data provided by Media Create.
The Nintendo Wii title broke into the chart with 92,000 units, followed by Pokemon Platinum for the Nintendo DS, which holds onto its position from last week at second place with 72,000 units.
Sony's Dungeon Keeper-like title, Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikida Or 2, for the PlayStation Portable sold 59,000 units in its first week on sale and secured its position at number three on the chart. Rhythm Tengoku Gold for the DS sold 51,000 units and dropped a place from last week to number four.
Sega's Culdcept DS and Namco Bandai's Kidou Senshi Gundam 00: Gundam Meisters for the PlayStation 2 both debut on the chart at fifth and sixth place with 50,000 and 43,000 units respectively.
The PS2 title, Shin Sangoku Musou 5 Special, came in seventh at 27,000 units, while Macross Ace Frontier for the PSP fell from first place last week to eighth, with 26,000 units
Wii Fit saw sales hit 18,000 units and came in at number nine, down from number six last week, and Super Robot Wars Z for the PS2 dropped five places from last week to number ten, selling 13,000 units.
Japanese software chart follows:
01. Wii Music (Wii)
02. Pokémon Platinum (DS)
03. Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikida Or 2 (PSP)
04. Rhythm Tengoku Gold (DS)
05. Culdcept DS (DS)
06. Kidou Senshi Gundam 00: Gundam Meisters (PS2)
07. Shin Sangoku Musou 5 Special (PS2)
08. Macross Ace Frontier (PSP)
09. Wii Fit (Wii)
10. Super Robot Wars Z (PS2)
The hotly anticipated Street Fighter IV will release on consoles and PC "this winter", the game's producer Yoshi Ono has confirmed.
However, this winter could still mean early 2009, and Ono was referring to the game's US release.
"There is no official North American arcade release, so we kind of feel bad that you guys have to wait for it," Ono told X-Play.
"We don't want to start rumours that it's this year, but definitely this winter. At some point you'll be sitting in you winter coat looking at snow out the window...and right then we'll kind of heat you up a little with some hot Street Fighter action so look forward to that."
Can't wait. Check out our Street Fighter IV game page here.
Variety writes that during an interview with EA Games president Frank Gibeau and EA Redwood Shores general manager Glenn Schofield, the duo spoke openly of plans for sequels to both Dead Space and Army of Two. According to the report, EA is also planning a direct follow-up to Battlefield: Bad Company.
Given the (so far) generally sterling reviews of Dead Space, combined with internal enthusiasm about the IP, a sequel to the sci-fi shock-fest isn't exactly a surprise. Neither is Bad Company, which has both reviewed and sold rather well. Army of Two is the head-scratcher, though. The game released to decent reviews, but was by no means a runaway hit. Still, anyone who's played it can see the potential for fleshing out some of its co-op concepts into a (hopefully better) sequel. Army of Two ... 2?
A new Eugenics Inc. "ad" has appeared on RockStar Social Club, issuing a vague quarantine order locking down the mysterious company's compound due to a contagious disease outbreak. Eugenics Inc. is a physical location in Grand Theft Auto IV, located in Bohan, though it doesn't play into any part of the game ... yet.
The quarantine announcement is actually the second Eugenics Inc. display to appear on Social Club, following a "Sperm for Cash" ad posted in April (now removed), which, to date, has never been an actual in-game activity. Obviously, Rockstar is proliferating the company's existence for some purpose, right?
Last we heard, Microsoft confirmed the exclusive GTA IV DLC for this fall -- so, any day now. The quarantine posting (unobstructed text after the break) has sparked some speculation that the DLC could be tied to Eugenics' mess. Namely, a potential zombie outbreak! With art assets already in place, what's to stop Rockstar from turning GTA IV into a "28 Days Later" scenario? Keep your eyes peeled.
The word "exclusive" isn't what it used to be. In recent times, it's fluctuated wildly between being an outright lie and a partial truth that slowly erodes with time. When it was announced that Tomb Raider: Underworld would be granted "exclusive" DLC on the Xbox 360, you can understand why we viewed it with skepticism -- surely it'll just be a code that unlocks content already on the disc?
Not so, Crystal Dynamics' creative director, Eric Lindstrom, tells VideoGamer. "The DLC that we're making for Microsoft is especially made. It's not part of the main game that we saved - we put all the game out there that we were going to put out there." The game, which is out there on November 18th, will be extended by some six hours through two downloadable chunks, developed at the behest of Microsoft. In other words, Lara's additional tomb jaunts in "Beneath the Ashes" -- due to arrive before Christmas -- and "Lara's Shadow" will most likely be "exclusive" to the Xbox 360 in the old-fashioned, what-the-word-actually-means sense.
Microsoft reported a whopping $15 billion in revenue for the the company's first quarter — which ends September 30th, if you're keeping track — a record for the company in that particular time period. The software giant attributes at least some of that positive operating income to the company's Xbox 360 platform, noting "healthy sales" of the console contributing to its record quarter. Not bad for a quarter with no Halo games released.
According to Microsoft, 2.2 million Xbox 360s were sold during the quarter, which runs from July to September. About a third of those were sold in the United States.
Welcome to this week's Games Update, our weekly summary featuring all new product arrivals from the last seven days.
Just as forecasted last week, torrents of games are washing into our warehouse despite the delay of our next big thing, Little Big Planet. Africa is falling into chaos in Far Cry 2, take up arms to stop it from escalating to the distopic level as displayed through the horrors in BioShock.
The future rests in your hands, take part in a self sacrificing mission set by the U.N in a war torn world in Ketsui Death Label. Learn what the Kamikaze spirit truly means in the tragic storyline of this shooter.
Before you decide upon the fate of the world, however, you should be able to decide your own fate. In Fable II, you have the freedom to join anyone's camp, rescue the world or sink it into eternal darkness. This is a game that deserves to be played repeatedly just to see how many alternate lives you can live.
Two star highly anticipated music games came out. Rockband 2 is a tribute to all the artists who have contributed to the growth of the industry that affected our culture so much. But moreover, it is a game that give you a taste of what being rock star is really like.
The newest DJ MAX game, Emotional Sense came out this week. Listen to the new tracks and see how techno can be mixed with classical music to form a new style. While still highly challenging, the game will ease new gamers into the fun through encouragement.
For those who have graduated from the Clazziquai edition [Special & Standard Editions], move on to the Black Square version expected to come out this November.
For more information regarding DJ MAX Emotional Sense, please see this special feature.
With Halloween coming nearer and nearer, a series of cool, cute, creepy, and absolutely fun games came out.
Students in Shibusen in Soul Eater: Medusa no Inbou are assigned with new, dangerous field work, this time on the DS. Get to know the characters and their strengths to carry yourself through this crisis with your touch pen and direction buttons.
Bleach: Soul Carnival [JPN & ASN versions] is another game that suits the Halloween atmosphere, just think of a super deformed Ichigo with his orange hair and black costume. As a horizontal action, this time, see the cute characters dash across the screen and battle with their enemies.
Less cute and comedic is the newest Castlevania game, Order of Ecclesia [Limited & Standard Editions]. The Belmont clan has disappeared and its up to other people to devise ways to undo the harm of the dark lord.
Taisho is a period where Western influences Japan most deeply. Spending Halloween in such a city is quite a thrilling experience, as you could see how the gap in the society beckons demons and monsters to come through. Join Katsunoha Raidou in Devil Summoner [First Print & Plus Editions] on his quest to quench evil forces that infest the city.
Stealth is a skill you may find useful during Halloween when you need to dodge between all the ghouls moving about. Train yourself in Tenchu 4. Be a real ninja, hide yourself from the preying eyes of the enemies and ambush them when they have their guard down.
Follow the scent of gold in the family games, Monopoly and Dokapon [Wii & PS2 versions]. Although never quite as violent as all the games mentioned above, in the world where money rules, you have to be ruthless.
Xbox360™
Blitz, The League II US US$ 64.90
Blitz, The League II ASIA US$ 49.90
Dead Space US US$ 64.90
FIFA Soccer 09 US US$ 64.90
Fable II US US$ 64.90
Fable II ASIA US$ 49.90
Fable II [Limited Edition] ASIA US$ 59.90
Fable II [Limited Edition] US N/A
FarCry 2 ASIA US$ 49.90
Golden Axe: Beast Rider US US$ 64.90
Gundam Musou International (Platinum Collection) JPN US$ 39.90
Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition ASIA US$ 44.90
NBA Live 09 JPN US$ 64.90
Rock Revolution US US$ 54.90
Saints Row 2 [Collectors Edition] US US$ 89.90
WWE Smackdown Vs. RAW 2008 (Platinum Hits) US US$ 34.90
Xbox 360 Accessory Bundle - Wireless Controller + Play & Charge Kit (Red) US US$ 69.90
PlayStation3™
Bioshock ASIA US$ 49.90
Blitz, The League II US US$ 64.90
Dead Space US US$ 64.90
FIFA Soccer 09 US US$ 64.90
FarCry 2 ASIA US$ 59.90
Golden Axe: Beast Rider US US$ 64.90
Gundam Musou (PlayStation3 the Best) JPN US$ 39.90
NBA Live 09 JPN US$ 64.90
Rock Band 2 US US$ 64.90
Rock Revolution US US$ 54.90
SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation US US$ 44.90
SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation (w/ Headset) US US$ 69.90
WWE Smackdown Vs. RAW 2008 (Greatest Hits) US US$ 34.90
Nintendo Wii™
Army Men: Soldiers of Misfortune US US$ 34.90
Avatar: The Last Airbender - Into the Inferno US US$ 34.90
Boogie Superstar US US$ 64.90
Bratz: Girlz Really Rock US US$ 34.90
Dokapon Kingdom US US$ 44.90
Ginsei Table Games Wii JPN US$ 39.90
Happy Dance Collection JPN US$ 59.90
High School Musical 3: Senior Year Dance US US$ 54.90
Pro Golfer Saru JPN US$ 59.90
Tak: Big Dose of Gross US US$ 44.90
Tenchu 4 JPN US$ 64.90
PlayStation2™
Baroque International JPN US$ 39.90
Devil Summoner: Kuzunoha Raidou tai Abaddon Ou JPN US$ 64.90
Devil Summoner: Kuzunoha Raidou tai Abaddon Ou Plus JPN US$ 99.90
Dokapon Kingdom US US$ 44.90
Ever 17: The Out of Infinity (Love Game Selection) JPN US$ 19.90
FIFA Soccer 09 US US$ 44.90
Gundam Musou Special (PlayStation2 the Best) JPN US$ 39.90
Hakugin no Soreiyu: Contract to Future JPN US$ 64.90
Hakugin no Soreiyu: Contract to Future [Limited Edition] JPN US$ 89.90
Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn!! Let's Ansatsu!? Nerawareta 10 Daime! (Best Collection) JPN US$ 34.90
MX vs ATV: Untamed (Greatest Hits) US US$ 24.90
NBA Live 09 JPN US$ 64.90
Never7: The End of Infinity (Love Game Selection) JPN US$ 19.90
Nitrobike US US$ 14.90
Remember 11: The Age of Infinity (Love Game Selection) JPN US$ 19.90
Sakura Taisen 3 (Sega the Best) JPN US$ 34.90
The DOG Island US US$ 14.90
Nintendo DS™
100 Kiri Golf DS JPN US$ 48.90
Bratz: Girlz Really Rock US US$ 24.90
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia / Akumajou Dracula: Ubawareta Kokuin JPN US$ 48.90
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia / Akumajou Dracula: Ubawareta Kokuin [Konamistyle Limited Edition] JPN US$ 129.90
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker (Ultimate Hits) JPN US$ 29.90
FIFA Soccer 09 US US$ 34.90
Final Fantasy III (Ultimate Hits) JPN US$ 29.90
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (Ultimate Hits) JPN US$ 29.90
Galileo JPN US$ 39.90
High School Musical 3: Senior Year Dance US US$ 34.90
Josei no Hinkakujuku DS JPN US$ 39.90
Ketsui Death Label JPN US$ 58.90
Kimi no Yuusha JPN US$ 48.90
Layton Kyouju to Fushigi na Machi (Friendly Version) JPN US$ 48.90
Morinaga Takurou no Okane no Shin Joushiki DS Training JPN US$ 48.90
My Japanese Coach US US$ 34.90
Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2 US US$ 34.90
Rock Revolution US US$ 34.90
Saihai no Yukue JPN US$ 48.90
Slime Mori Mori Dragon Quest 2 (Ultimate Hits) JPN US$ 29.90
Smart Boy's: Toy Club US US$ 24.90
Smart Girl's: Party Game US US$ 24.90
Smart Kid's: Party Fun Pak US US$ 34.90
Soul Bubbles US US$ 34.90
Soul Eater: Medusa no Inbou JPN US$ 48.90
Tak Mojo Mistake US US$ 34.90
Wagamama Fasion: Gals Mode JPN US$ 48.90
Sony PSP™
Bleach: Soul Carnival ASIA US$ 42.90
Bleach: Soul Carnival JPN US$ 48.90
Crimsongem Saga ASIA US$ 39.90
DJ Max Portable Emotional Sense - Clazziquai Edition KOR US$ 49.90
DJ Max Portable Emotional Sense - Clazziquai Edition [Special Package] KOR US$ 59.90
FIFA Soccer 09 US US$ 44.90
Garnet Chronicle JPN US$ 48.90
Gundam Battle Chronicle (PSP the Best) JPN US$ 29.90
Hard Pouch Portable 3 (Black) JPN US$ 9.99
MX vs ATV: Untamed (Greatest Hits) US US$ 24.90
Minna de Dokusho: Keatai Shousetsu Desu JPN US$ 39.90
Moeru Mahjong: Moejong! JPN US$ 48.90
Moeru Mahjong: Moejong! [Premium Box] JPN US$ 95.00
NBA Live 09 JPN US$ 48.90
SD Gundam G Generation Portable (PSP the Best) JPN US$ 29.90
SSX on Tour (EA Best Hits) JPN US$ 29.90
PC Games
Battle Rage: The Robot Wars ASIA US$ 32.90
Europa Universalis III Collection ASIA US$ 34.90
FarCry 2 (DVD-ROM) ASIA US$ 44.90
FarCry 2 [Collector Edition] (DVD-ROM) ASIA US$ 59.90
Medal of Honor: 10th Anniversary Bundle ASIA US$ 49.90
Space Rangers: Reboot ASIA US$ 32.90
Swashbucklers ASIA US$ 32.90
The Hardy Boys: The Hidden Theft ASIA US$ 29.90
Virtual Skipper 5 ASIA US$ 34.90
X3: Terran Conflict ASIA US$ 42.90
Game Guides and Books
Fable II Limited Edition Guide US US$ 29.90
Famitsu DS + Wii [December 2008] JPN US$ 9.90
Naruto Path of a Ninja 2: Prima Official Game Guide US US$ 19.90
SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Confrontation Signature Series Guide US US$ 19.90
Saints Row 2 Signature Series Guide US US$ 17.90
V-Jump [December 2008] JPN US$ 8.90
Weekly Famitsu No. 1037 (2008 10/31) JPN US$ 7.90
Wii Fit Official Guide Book JPN US$ 19.90
Zero: Gesshoku no Kamen Nintendo Wii Official Guide Book JPN US$ 21.90
Video Game Soundtracks
Afrika Original Soundtrack [CD+DVD] JPN US$ 29.90
Culdcept DS Original Soundtrack Deluxe JPN US$ 31.90
DJCD Sengoku Basara Special (~Tomoyuki Morikawa, Seiichi Morita) JPN US$ 27.90
Hototogisu Ran Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 23.90
Nijiiro No Ojisama Drama CD Vol.1 (~Toshiyuki Morikawa, Kenichi Suzumura, Takahiro Sakurai) JPN US$ 27.90
Pop'n Music 16 Party Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 27.90
Prawf Clwyd Soundtrack JPN US$ 19.90
Siren Original Soundtrack JPN US$ 27.90
Your Memories Off - Girl's Style - Drama CD Road of the Your Kanzen Ban (~Hikaru Midorikawa, Ryotaro Okiayu, Kenichi Suzumura) JPN US$ 22.90
Here is a preview of what are expected to be hot next week, as you can see, quite a lot of them:
Xbox360™
Fallout 3 US US$ 64.90
Fallout 3 ASIA US$ 49.90
Fallout 3 [Collectors Edition] US US$ 89.90
Guitar Hero World Tour ASIA US$ 59.90
PlayStation3™
Eternal Sonata US US$ 64.90
Fallout 3 US US$ 64.90
Fallout 3 ASIA US$ 59.90
Fallout 3 [Collectors Edition] US US$ 89.90
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Spec III JPN US$ 49.90
Guitar Hero World Tour US US$ 64.90
Guitar Hero World Tour ASIA US$ 59.90
LittleBigPlanet ASIA US$ 59.90
LittleBigPlanet US US$ 64.90
LittleBigPlanet JPN US$ 59.90
MotorStorm: Pacific Rift US US$ 64.90
MotorStorm: Pacific Rift ASIA US$ 59.90
SOCOM: Confrontation ASIA US$ 39.90
SOCOM: Confrontation (w/ Headset) ASIA US$ 64.90
Nintendo Wii™
Wii Music US US$ 59.90
PlayStation2™
Thunder Force VI JPN US$ 59.90
Nintendo DS™ Aruite Wakaru: Seikatsu Rhythm DS JPN US$ 58.90
Chocobox JPN US$ 19.90
Dr. Slump & Arale-Chan JPN US$ 48.90
Valkyrie Profile: Toga o Seoumono JPN US$ 48.90
Sony PSP™
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP the Best) ASIA US$ 26.90
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP the Best) JPN US$ 29.90
Star Ocean: First Departure US US$ 44.90
PC Game
Fallout 3 (DVD-ROM) US US$ 54.90
Fallout 3 (DVD-ROM) ASIA US$ 44.90
Fallout 3 [Collectors Edition] (DVD-ROM) US US$ 89.90
In uncertain times such as these, it ought to be reassuring to turn to British successes. The UK video games industry – or at least its development, as opposed to the publishing side – is a rare example of Britain punching above its weight. At least, that's the popular perception. Speak to any independent British games developer and you will find a considerably more apocalyptic prognosis. Recently, the situation has deteriorated so badly that a coalition of British development studios, backed by developers' trade body Tiga and ELSPA, the publishers' body, has embarked on a campaign to lobby the government, entitled "Games Up?".
Games Up? seeks two things: tax breaks for UK developers in line with those enjoyed by the film industry, and institutional change in universities, designed to re-establish a flow of graduates with skills that are relevant to the game development process. But hang on: according to Games Up?, games made in the UK between 2006 and 2008 alone are on track to generate global revenues of £4bn, and the global games market is worth £18bn and growing at 9% per annum. The credit crunch isn't even an undue worry: consumers are known to turn to games in difficult times, as they offer protracted entertainment for a smallish outlay. So why are UK developers looking to the government for help?
Seductive benefits
The most pressing problem is that the UK development scene has slipped down the global pecking order since several other countries decided to seduce games companies with tax breaks. Ian Livingstone, creative director and head of acquisitions at Eidos, one of the few remaining British games publishers – and not a man ordinarily given to doom-mongering – explains: "We've recently slipped from third to fourth in world development behind Canada. We're now the most expensive country in the world in which to develop. Other countries – not just Canada, but two states in the US, Scandinavian countries, France, Singapore, Korea and others – offer salary subsidies. Canada saw games as a clear opportunity to invest in the future, as traditional manufacturing was disappearing, and made a conscious decision to invest in games. They don't see it as a handout but as an investment. They have actually given out, in salary subsidies, 37.5% to every employee in games companies, and up to 40% R&D tax-credit.
"Over 10 years, they have invested C$500m (£244m). But that has actually generated $1.5bn of inward investment from companies like EA, Ubisoft, and Eidos. It's paying off, because they have a great infrastructure there: they've got great universities providing skilled students, and they are generally pro-games. The difference between there and here is that our government clearly sees any state support as a handout, not an investment. It seems to me the UK government would rather see our great industry go into decline than help it maintain its prominent position in the world, and that is madness."
Livingstone paints a bleak picture of the future of UK games development. "In the past six years, half of the independent UK development studios have already closed or been bought by foreign publishers who see more value in our studios and intellectual property than we do ourselves. We'll end up being a work-for-hire nation. The inherent intellectual property that is created at those studios will be foreign-owned, and they can move that IP to be produced wherever they want in the world, if it suits them."
Richard Wilson, chief executive of Tiga, is the spokesman for the Games Up? campaign. He has been meeting civil servants from the departments for Culture Media and Sport, Innovation, Universities and Skills, Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, Children, Schools and Families and the Treasury, among others. He doesn't, however, sound enormously optimistic that the government will heed his call for "20% production tax credit, like that approved by the EU and already found in France". Not to mention that enjoyed for many years by the British film industry.
He adds that "the government understands that UK games developers are not competing on a level playing field" but is "reluctant to introduce tax breaks for games production unless it can be shown that there is an issue of market failure or that there are strong cultural reasons for supporting UK games developers".
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the economic circumstances, the various government departments proved unreceptive to inquiries; the Department of Culture, Media and Sport was particularly dismissive. The Treasury did manage to produce a stultifyingly generic response although, promisingly, it says: "Following approval of a cultural tax relief for games in France, the government is now working with the UK gaming industry to collect and review the evidence for introducing such a credit in the UK."
Battle for breaks
Don Foster, Liberal Democrat spokesman on culture and media, points out that the games industry is competing with others for tax breaks, notably fashion and tourism. He also believes the games industry suffers from an unjustifiably poor image: "I hardly play any games – I'm not from that generation – but because of my job, I had to research the industry. The vast majority of my parliamentary colleagues are always wanting to ban the latest game, but they don't know the details of the industry. Few people in this country realise how important it is to the UK economy." Livingstone agrees: "We're still seen as the red-headed stepchild of the creative industries, one notch up from pornography in the eyes of most of the establishment. They forget that half of the world and half of the UK's population play games. Games help define who we are as human beings – they are as important, culturally and socially, as music and films."
There's another problem, though, which Foster highlights: a shortage of university graduates with the requisite skills. Which brings us to the second prong of the Games Up? campaign. There are 81 videogames courses on offer at UK universities, but only four are accredited by Skillset and therefore taken seriously by the games industry. Livingstone says: "These universities are churning out people who know a bit about games design and the history of games, but what we need are computer programmers, artists and animators: people with real skills who can start work tomorrow. It's better for us to go to somewhere like Imperial College and employ someone who has just done a computer science degree and knows how to program in C++."
This problem ought to be easy to solve collectively, Livingstone says: "The government, industry and education establishments have to come together to find a way to move forward." But Wilson says the government seems to have difficulty grasping the nature of the skills needed.
Bad law?
Jon Hare, director of development at Ukrainian developer Nikitova (and the co-founder of legendary UK developer Sensible Software) says that legislation of a decade ago which says developers must take contractors on as full-time staff after a year, or stop using them, has been economically damaging. Previously, such contractors would be paid a fixed amount for their work on the project, whether it overran or not, which allowed small developers to control their costs. Hare argues that tax breaks would merely offset extra costs which the government has introduced by that legislation.
The Games Up? campaign may not be perfect, but, says Foster, it needs to make its case "robustly". But given how beleaguered the government is by the ongoing financial and banking crisis, Livingstone is pessimistic: "The perception is 'why do we need it, as clearly we're doing well?' But do you put a new roof on your house when it's raining? Surely you should do it when it's sunny?"
After taking a breather from consuming video game hardware last week, Japanese gamers return to the electronics stores of their choosing, snapping up almost 160,000 new PSPs. That's substantially more than Famitsu estimated. The PSP-3000 model took Japan by storm, outselling every other platform combined. And multiplied by two.
As good as Sony's fortunes were on the PSP front, PlayStation 3 sales continued to drop. Weekly PS3 sales sink to a Media Create chart all-time low, with less than 5,000 units sold. It's the only hardware platform to drop in sales this week, possibly due to the soon to be released 80 GB model, which arrives alongside a pair of LittleBigPlanet and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Spec III bundles.
• PSP - 159,816
• Nintendo DS - 29,839
• Wii - 26,024
• Xbox 360 - 7,856
• PlayStation 2 - 7,261
• PlayStation 3 - 4,725
Exclusive to Sam's Club this November, Microsoft is releasing their quite literal biggest bundle to date. The box is huuuge and just bursting with a 60GB Xbox 360 Pro console, Lego Indiana Jones, Kung Fu Panda and Guitar Hero III with the guitar. Priced at $350, that's only $50 more than the Pro unit runs alone. So yes, it's a pretty good deal that's probably worth the forest-worth of trees that each box requires to come to fruition.
Good news, everybody (concerned with the financial prosperity of a gigantic corporation)! Microsoft's fiscal Q1 2009 results, which cover the three-month period ending September 30th, 2008, show that its Entertainment and Devices Division -- the same one responsible for the entertaining device known as the Xbox 360 -- managed to turn a profit once again. According to Gamesindustry.biz, quarterly income rose to $178 million, an approximate 6.6% increase over last year's $167 million.
In less financially fortuitous news, overall sales were down from $1.929 billion to $1.814 billion (no Halo 3 this year, remember?) compared to Q1 2008, and revenue from the Xbox 360 and PC platforms went down by 22%. Though Microsoft still shifted 2.2 million consoles, the EDD was greatly aided by sales of Mac software, mobile device applications and the Zune. Seriously, people, we can't keep making fun of it if you actually go and buy the darn thing.
Seven bundles? Oh, Microsoft Europe weren't ever going to stop at "just" seven 360 bundles for the holiday season. We knew that when the eighth one hit. And now definitely know it with the ninth bundle, this time in a Call of Duty flavour. Included in the bundle is a 60GB Pro, a wireless controller and a copy of call of Duty: World At War. Not the most exciting bundle, then, but it's interesting to see an official pack-in of an adults-only game
Or, to be more precise, puts the Mickey into Mario, in this figure by Dave Bondi, which actually has zero Disney/Nintendo involvement whatsoever. We know, we know, it's another pretentious "urban vinyl" figure, but the sheer horror of seeing Disney's and Nintendo's flagship mascots thrown in a bucket together makes it worth a closer look. *looks closer*. Oh, the horror.
Highly-anticipated sequel BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams is getting a multiplatform release, 2K Games has confirmed.
The FPS follow-up will be released on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, a 2K statement said (what, no DS release?!)
The first trailer for Sea of Dreams, which is little more than a CGI willy-wave, was spotted at the end of the PS3 version of BioShock last week. We've finally got our hands on a lovely hi-res version now, which you can find below...
The first game was famously released exclusively on Xbox 360 and PC, and after a year of rumours and anxious speculation, it finally hits PS3 today. It's good news then that PS3 owners probably won't have to suffer a long wait next time around.
With Tokyo Game Show behind us, it's time to move on to the flood of Q4 releases. That would explain Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and Fable II being unceremoniously plopped on the stoop of Kotaku Towers West. Both will get a good gameplay session thrashing this weekend from yours truly and then ultimately reviewed — as will as the recently acquired Portal: Still Alive — but there are some non-obligation games here too. Finally picked up Call of Duty 4 (I know, I know), The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (I know!!), LittleBigPlanet and Dead Space. So many games!
I'm going to put in a request for some time off from my job writing about games to play some of these games. How about you? Halloween parties planned this weekend?
Race at breakneck speeds through the streets of modern-day L.A. recreated in stunning detail. Drive the hottest range of real-world tuners, muscle cars, exotics and superbikes on the streets today. Customize your vehicle with the best after-market performance parts and custom kits. Illegal street racing with no track, no load times, no rules: Welcome to the Midnight Club.
features
12-Month Gold Subscription lets you play online games with friends.
Chatpad attaches to the Xbox 360 controller for easy texting.
Use the wired headset for voice chat.
Added bonus: Project Gotham Racing 4 included!
description
The new 12-Month Messenger Gold Pack has everything you need to get the most out of Xbox LIVE. Play online multiplayer games, text messages to friends with the Chatpad, and use the headset for voice chat. To get you started, the Project Gotham Racing® 4 is included, so you can jump right into a race with your friends!
features
The Dunia Engine was built specifically for Far Cry® 2 by the award-winning Ubisoft Montréal development team. It delivers the most realistic destructible environments and amazing special effects
Real-time story telling, systemic auto-healing, minimal in-game interface are just few of the features that will make you feel the tension of being alone against barbarous warlords that threaten thousands of innocent lives
from a wide range of weapons to make your way to your primary target. Meet the fight head-on with your machine-gun, go berserk with your machete or make stealth kills as a Sniper
description
Caught between two rival factions in war-torn Africa, you are sent to take out "The Jackal", a mysterious character who has rekindled the conflict between the warlords, jeopardizing thousands of lives. In order to fulfil your mission you will have to play the factions against each other, identify and exploit their weaknesses, and neutralise their superior numbers and firepower with surprise, subversion, cunning and, of course, brute force.
features
Get Rich Quick — In this all-new, super-fast version, trade properties and compete in exciting mini-games to see who makes the top of the rich list!
Group Play — Up to four players can simultaneously join in on the “rags to riches” fun.
Monopoly Past, Present & Future — The most extensive collection of MONOPOLY boards all in one package – from the newest MONOPOLY HERE & NOW: The World Edition to classic MONOPOLY.
Now Boarding — Fill up your passport as you play to unlock new and never-before-seen MONOPOLY boards.
description
Celebrating over 70 years of family fun, the legendary property trading game MONOPOLY® is hitting video game consoles in a whole new way! The world’s most popular board game returns in 2008 with MONOPOLY® HERE & NOW: The World Edition, a modern makeover of the classic game. With a host of current-day cities and landmarks from all over the world, this new version will let players wheel and deal and compete to own some of the most recognized locales on Earth. EA brings this exciting new edition of the beloved board game to video game consoles for the first time along with entirely new features that focus on super-fast play, fun and interactive mini-games and four-player simultaneous gameplay. Players can now host the ultimate MONOPOLY night with family and friends.
features
A fusion of web-slinging and powerful combat moves combine to create an unbeatable, all-new fighting system that intuitively blends Spider-Man's speed and strength with the environment for deadly new attacks and combos
At a moment's notice, you can harness the grace, agility and acrobatics of Spider-Man Red Suit, or leverage the brute, savage power of the Black Suit. Switch suits at any time to create devastating never-before-seen combos and finishing moves
Teeming with life, the Big Apple is more alive than ever before in the Spider-Man series. Citizens will either cheer Spider-Man on or run away in fear, depending on your actions and decisions
Increased city interactivity and destructibility allow you to pick up and use anything in your way as a weapon, destroy store fronts, demolish vehicles, and virtually obliterate city streets with powerful attacks
With some of the greatest heroes and most notorious villains in the Marvel Universe, including staples such as Luke Cage and Vulture, your choices control who will ultimately aid you in the fight to rid New York of the alien symbiote
description
New York City has been invaded and only Spider-Man™ can save it.
Control everything. Spider-Man™: Web of Shadows gives you an unprecedented level of gameplay choice, including, for the first time, control over the game’s direction and outcome. Choose how Spider-Man fights, which powers to upgrade, who in the Marvel universe to fight with or against, and the fate of New York City itself.
features
Japan's No.1 selling video game magazine
Weekly news, reports, reviews, interviews and much more
100% video gaming coverage from Japan
Approx. 200 pages or more of footage
features
This Signature Series guide features a complete walkthrough of the Light and Dark paths.
In-depth area maps
Expert boss strategies
Information on abilities
Signature Series guide includes bonus content, exclusive foldout and more!
Platform: Xbox360
Major Nelson has just dropped the details on how to get into the New Xbox Experience early. They're looking for a "few thousand" participants. All you've gotta do is sign up and answer a few questions (click here) to be considered for the Preview Update. Gold and Silver Xbox Live members can apply, but Gold gets first priority. If you're accepted, you'll hear from them in about a week, meaning the preview should be within the next 10-14 days.
It's almost Halloween. Well, not almost, but almost, time for TELL US DAMMIT. Here's how it works: We ask a question, you answer it. Simple and no strings attached! This isn't some marketing survey or whatever. It's an emotional investment in you. Yes, we're interested in knowing you, Kotaku reader person. You probably know ****tons about us — more than you even want to, we're sure. But, hey, we'd like to know about you. That way you won't be some faceless blob — and we might feel a tinge of guilt when we ban your ass. Or not, because really we're incapable of human emotion. Who knows!
Question: What's the scariest game you've ever played?
Motorcycles in Burnout Paradise? Awesome. Even, er ... awesome-r is today's announcement that Criterion is planning at least four additional DLC content packs for the game. Placeholder images for the packs are already up on the developer's newly revamped site, along with word that the contents of the first pack will be laid bare on Friday, Oct. 31.
The remaining three packs will be revealed each subsequent Friday (Nov. 7, Nov. 14, and Nov. 24). It's almost certain that one of the packs will introduce an entirely new island, which Criterion has been working on for some time. As for the others ... what would you like to see? (If they aren't, in fact, additional islands.)
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