Archive for December 8th, 2006
Homemade Wii Powerglove: Where Dr. Who Meets Fred Savage
From a practicality standpoint, this thing is nigh-on useless, as it looks harder to use than a regular Wii Remote. It also looks incredibly naff, as it makes the user look like a badly-clothed extra from a 70’s episode of Dr. Who.
But if you squint, and imagine real hard, you can picture Fred Savage, all grown up now, sitting alone and trashed in his room filming this, and it makes it all OK.
In-Game Ads Coming To Counter-Strike 1.6
Attention Counter-Strike players, your game is about to become infested with in-game advertising courtesy of Valve and IGA. In an interview with Valve’s Doug Lombardi, CS-Nation questioned the marketing director on how the ads would be implemented and the reasoning behind the commercial change to the seven-year old mod with a diehard community.
In-game advertisements aren’t necessarily a new thing in certain maps, but it appears Valve will dedicate much more real estate to promotional space. According to Lombardi:
There will be some ads posted on walls in the game world, an ad on the scoreboard screen, and one in the letterboxed area of Spectator mode.
However, the company plans to keep it tasteful.
Counter-Strike levels aren’t going to turn into Times Square or a Nextel Cup racecar. We have control over what ads show up in Counter-Strike and how they are presented.
You graphics whores out there who’ve moved on to the Source port of Counter-Strike should expect to see the same soon. Lombardi confirms that Valve considers the 1.6 implementation a test and will guage community response. I can only assume that more in-game ads from Valve and its partner are inevitable.
Advertisements Coming to CS [CS-Nation]
Spike VGAs Happen Tonight. Who’s Going?
The Spike TV Video Game Awards are being filmed tonight, so who’s going? Tickets were free, so you cheap-asses have no excuse for not being there. Well, I can understand if you don’t live in the southern California area how that might be an obstacle, but c’mon. B and C-level celebrities, painful musical acts like 50 Cent and AFi, Samuel L. Jackson… it’s going to be fun!
Plus, there may even be a little bit of gaming quality justice dispensed as the voting panel includes some highly qualified video game journalists including Gamespot’s Greg Kasavin, IGN’s Tal Blevins, EGM’s Dan Hsu and even our very own Brian “I Thought Gundam Crossfire Was A Solid B-” Crecente. On second thought, maybe we should be concerned.
I’ll hopefully has a nice little wrap up for you later tonight (or tomorrow morning, depending on teh booze situation) so get your sarcastic comments ready.
First Shots Of Tekken 5 HD
Game Watch has a ton of brand spankin’ new shots of the upcoming PlayStation Store game Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection, which I’ll be referring to Tekken 5 HD from now on. As previously covered, this is a fairly straight port of the arcade fighter (which was also ported to the PSP) but in 1920 x 1080 resolution.
No further details about price or release date (still), but apparently you’ll only need to devote 800MB of hard disk space to the downloadable title.
Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection For PS3 Screens [Game Watch]
Female game shoppers persuaded by freebies, determines survey
Filed under: Culture, Business
Attention would-be game marketers: According to the “Customer Focus Tech Savvy” survey, Gen-Y females are suckers for the ol’ special offer — who isn’t? Thirty-two percent of participating females, born between 1977 and 1994*, agreed that “special offers like free items or discounts” are the most important factor in deciding where to purchase video games. Not surprisingly, “parents” and “adults” (the other vague statistical categories polled) agreed.
Retailer owners may also take solace in the discovery that almost no one surveyed thought herself attracted to helpful staff or demo kiosks. Just stick with the swag and pimply-faced dimwits.
*Range used by survey; official Generation Y range varies: “there is no precise consensus as to which birth years constitute Generation Y. For instance, while the periodical American Demographics typically uses 1976 to demarcate the start of Generation Y, the demographers Howe and Strauss have consistently used ‘the High School class of 2000,’ or those born in 1982 as their demarcation” [Wikipedia].
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
Since I’m finally in the PlayStation 3 Owners Club, I’m going to play… a bunch of old PS2 games. Maybe some Klonoa 2, maybe a bit of God of War, who knows? It’s going to be a freeform jazz odyssey PS3 jam session with my roommate.
Just to keep the ire going on this site, I might play some more of the MotorStorm demo, which just happens to look gorgeous in 720p on my Sharp Aquos.
Mostly though, I’ll be hunting down a Dreamcast VGA cable, some HDMI cables, and one fiber optic cable, for optimal audio and video performance. Yeah, I’m becoming that guy.
What about you kids? With Xmas only a few weeks away, you’d better not be buying yourself too many presents. What’s on the gaming menu this weekend?
Final Fantasy Versus XIII Trailer Goes Public
Shown at the Square-Enix E3 press conference, but oddly never released to the public until now, this pure CG trailer should give you a taste of what to expect from the action oriented spin-off of the more traditional RPG, Final Fantasy XIII.
Liveblogging the 2006 Video Game Awards [update 13]
Filed under: Culture, Features
We survived the yellow carpet (yellow? really?) and we’re inside the show bringing you some hot, sexy liveblogging action. Awards drop on Spike TV next Wednesday, but get the goods here early. These prestigious awards are presided over by a huge team of monkeys, three junior kids, and the Duke Nukem Forever development team. We’ll be bringing you the hard-hitting questions from the red carpet in a video over the weekend. For now just sit back and read the show, nullifying your need for TiVo.
9:19: It’s showtime, Sam Jackson comes out onstage and kicks some ass, killing Guitar Heroes left and right. No love for the music? Holy cow, he just dropped a big ol’ f-bomb. He gets intro’ed onstage by Stewie, and we’re off.
9:21: Sam has his hands on PlayStation 4 — it’s high def, wireless, and his has a vagina. RequisiteWii-mote joke here: “Wii-off! Instead of game elbow, we got beat-off elbow.” Nice.
9:22: Sam riffs on Rockstar and wants to know where his hot coffee is. Heyooooo. “They got a game with two guys kissin? Damn, Rockstar takes controversy and gives it to you right up the ass!”
9:24: Jokes about gamers having sex with hot girls. It goes over like a lead ballon. Speaking of balloons, check out the massive amount of L.A. chestage going on.
9:25: 50 Cent intros the “Best Human Female in a Video Game in a sort of slurred “here’s my drink” English. We’ll have what he’s having. It’s unsure if he even knows what he’s talking about.
9:26: Vida Guerra takes it all home for her role in Scarface, and the jokes about introducing her to your little friend commence.
9:35: Stewie whizzes all over Snakes on Plane, FTW. Sam Jackson ain’t above hittin’ a baby.
9:36: Rachael Leigh Cook and Seth Green present the award for the Best Game Based on a TV Show of a Movie. But our audio is being trumped by Vida Guerra in the next room talking about winning. FOR THE LOVE OF PETE, GIVE US SOME JACKSON AND SHUSH UP OVER THERE! Someone won, but hey, these game developers all look a lot alike. We’ll find out who and plug it in here later. We’re sure you can’t wait.
9:40: Daniel Dae Kim ain’t Lost, he’s here introducing the World Premiere of some Bioshock action. This looks pretty darned familiar, Kim. Get back to your island.
9:42: Mocap skit with balls. A chubby dude in a blue suit covered in giant balls plays “the bitch” in Saint’s Row. Nice.
Continue reading Liveblogging the 2006 Video Game Awards [update 13]
Permalink | Email this | Comments
“Playstation Game Boy:” When genericized trademarks collide
Filed under: Culture, Nintendo DS, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Portable
“PlayStation” is synonymous with console gaming. Game Boy is synonymous with portable gaming. Both are synonymous with video games. So it’s no surprise that the official police report from the sad story of one kid getting arrested after “stealing” a wrapped Game Boy has the stolen goods listed as a “PlayStation Game Boy.” Not as ridiculous as the story itself, but enough cross-pollination of genericized trademarks already.
[Thanks, Lex Luther]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Sony Sticking To 1 Million PS3s By End Of Year
Responding to 1UP in regard to yesterday’s NPD sales numbers that showed strong PS2 sales but PS3 numbers under half of their original shipment figures, Sony says they’re still looking to have 1 million PlayStation 3 consoles at retail…err, make that “in the pipeline” before the new year.
Sony’s official statement contained the following:
We will continue to utilize airfreight delivery for the PLAYSTATION 3 to assure a steady stream of systems for North American consumers through the end of the year. And while initial day-one launch shipment goals weren’t achievable due to early manufacturing issues, those problems have been resolved and we do remain focused on having one million PS3’s in the pipeline by December 31, 2006.
I suppose it’s possible. Just to be safe, start holding your breath…. NOW.
Sony Responds to NPD Figures [1UP]
Today’s hottest game video: 360 headset woes
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Video
Today’s most-watched YouTube game video shows a gamer who is unable to connect his original Xbox 360 controller and Wireless Headset together on channel one. The demonstration implies that this is a widespread issue with no fix yet from Microsoft, although we haven’t had any issues.
The gamer shows the process of activating the headset and having a conflict with his original controller. He then repeats the steps with a new, extra controller and has no problem.
It’s like the I-Team without having to sit through the rest of the made-up local news. See the video after the break.
See also: Joystiq video: Xbox 360 Wireless Headset review
Continue reading Today’s hottest game video: 360 headset woes
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Today in Joystiq: December 8, 2006
Joystiquery
Happy Tetris music day
Japanese hardware sales, 27 Nov - 3 Dec: wiivolution edition
The Political Game: Don’t worry, be happy
Today’s hottest game video: Halo 3 “Starry Night” ad dissected
News
Wii launches in Europe, loads of people buy it
Firefly returns as MMORPG
Use the Wii-mote in Mac OS X with DarwiinRemote
Jumpin’ jinkies, new Wii straps
NPR chats up older gamers
Aliens and explorers enter Virtual Console lineup
GRAW 2 details hit web weeks after print
Respect the Ratings: GameStop unveils new campaign
How to sign up for Halo 3 European beta
Epic racing clock to release Gears patch, mum about details
Gamestop sells porn-packed used MemoryStick
CNN gets Joystiq’d, reports on Wii strap failures
Exchange ‘Stars’ for Wii points in UK
Hey, Grammys, where’s the video game love?
Convicted modder must pay or ‘pay’ (with jail time)
Sony confident despite lower than expected NPD data
Nintendo gets sued over Wiimote
Europe: Wii hopefuls feel the shortage pain
Lemmings & Sudoku appear on PS3 store
Rumors & Speculation
Nintendo slip up points to Wii shortages?
Early PS3 shortages hurting more than just sales?
Culture
Ocarina of Time adult Link collectible statue
John Lennon + Halo 3 ad = instant karma
Wii safety docs spoofed
Permalink | Email this | Comments
PlayStation Store Gets Lemmings, Sudoku
Good news for the few thousand of you who currently own a PS3 with nothing new to play. Two new additions have made their way onto the PlayStation Store, Lemmings and Go! Suduko.
Lemmings uses the “processing power of the PLAYSTATION 3″ to “take the game to a whole new dimension”, which I can only assume means the highly touted Fourth Dimension, exclusive to the PS3. I’m downloading the 142MB trial version now, which I’ll pass judgment on later. The full version of Lemmings is only $5.99, how bad can it be?
Go! Sudoku is, of course, sudoku the number puzzle fad that is sweeping the nation. The first pack is free, with four additional packs priced at $2.99 each. Since I’m in post-Brain Age sudoku rehab, I’ll pass on this one.
Uh-oh. Wii Shipments Short?
It might be even harder to get a Wii by Christmas. In a press release Nintendo released last night, the company congratulated itself for selling over 2 million pieces of hardware during the month of November. Admittedly, pretty impressive.
The original release contained the text “Despite spot shortages in some locations, well more than a million Wii systems will be available in the United States by the end of the year” with the “by the end of the year” portion in a different font-size, presumably a last minute edit.
Early today Nintendo issued a correction:
In the news release [...] issued yesterday, Dec. 7, by Nintendo over PR Newswire, we are advised by the company that the fourth paragraph, last sentence which reads, “Despite spot shortages in some locations, well more than a million Wii systems will be available in the United States by the end of the year,” should be disregarded.
Hmm, that’s pretty hard to disregard now. Is Nintendo being cautious? Are those reports coming in from the UK that certain retailers aren’t getting full shipments a warning sign? It sounds like it might be a bit harder to score a Wii this holiday than we anticipated.
Corrected release after the jump.
Wii-MARKABLE! November Sales Show Nintendo Hardware Systems Outsell All Others Combined
REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 7 — For video gamers, it was the month that was — November 2006, the first time all three new home systems would be available to consumers, along with three established portable game devices.
It was a month that belonged to Nintendo.
According to independent sales data from the NPD Group, Nintendo sold 55 percent of all video game systems in November, led by the launch of the Wii(TM) home system and the incredible continuing success of the Nintendo DS(TM) portable.
In only the first seven days of availability after its Nov. 19 launch, Wii sold nearly half a million systems in the United States alone (as reported previously by Nintendo, total sales of Wii in the Americas reached 600,000 in its first eight days of availability).
While Wii sold through at a rate of more than 70,000 a day for the seven days represented in the data (substantially higher than any other game device), November’s two top sellers of any type were the Nintendo DS, at almost 920,000 units, and Game Boy® Advance, with nearly 642,000 portables sold. With Wii and Nintendo GameCube(TM) totals included, Nintendo sold through more than 2.1 million of the 3.9 million systems purchased for the month.
The data also reveals that the Wii title The Legend of Zelda®: Twilight Princess achieved sales of 412,000, representing 87 percent of all Wii purchasers, the highest industry rate of sale for any launch title since introduction of Super Mario® 64 with the Nintendo® 64 a decade ago.
In addition, despite the inclusion of Wii Sports software with every system sale, Wii buyers also purchased an average of two additional games, compared to approximately one game per system for the installed bases of either competing new home system.
Lemmings & Sudoku appear on PS3 store
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Online, Puzzle, Strategy
PlayStation Store’s downloadable PlayStation 3 games catalogue doubled yesterday with the arrival of Lemmings and Go! Sudoku. These aren’t exactly huge blips on the radar, but it’s good to see Sony adding content, even if it’s a sporadic effort.
The updated version of Lemmings, trying players’ leadership skills across 50+ levels, is being offered for $2.99 $5.99; the basic Sudoku package tops that. It’s free. Additional puzzle packs (bundled by difficulty) are $2.99 a pop. The number of puzzles per pack has not yet been verified, but Sony hopes to offer roughly 1,000 grid variations in all.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
50,000 UK Wii Sold in 12 Hours
Filed under news that really doesn’t surprise anyone, the Wii is off to a great start in the UK, where Nintendo is reporting more than 50,000 consoles were sold in the first 12 hours since the midnight launches began. I’ve a feeling that number would be a lot higher had there been more systems available. Nintendo, needless to say, is overjoyed:
Said Nintendo UK general manager David Yarnton, “We are delighted with the amazing response to Wii and that people of all ages and gaming experience are embracing the way that we are turning the industry on its head. With so many units sold it is great to see that people will be enjoying Wii with their families this Christmas.
Yarnton goes on to restate their dedication to getting product into gamers’ hands. Starting to feel a little bad for you folks in the UK. Sure, you guys have your awesome rewards program, but you have to sit and watch everyone else have fun, hoping they’ll be some left over. It’s like every college party I ever went to. *sniffles*
Wii Reaches 50,000 Sold In UK Launch [Gamasutra]
Europe: Wii hopefuls feel the shortage pain
Filed under: Nintendo Wii
This week, Nintendo is making its journey into the motion-side complete (spoken in my best Emperor accent) by launching in Australia and Europe, having already finished both the US and Japanese launches. Now the old world is feeling the early shortage pain with many gamers having their preorders delayed until after Christmas, according to the BBC, because Nintendo “didn’t ship enough.”
In addition to gamer complaints, the article suggests UK retailers are having “problems getting stock from Nintendo.” Is the continent getting the supply shaft yet again? Probably. So we at Joystiq are “pouring out a little for our homies” in Yurp. Good luck, mates.
[Thanks, >]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Sparkly Paris Hilton DS on eBay
If you found yourself drooling over the Swarovski crystal covered pink DS Lite designed by Paris Hilton we posted a few weeks back, then not only is their something wrong with you, but there is also a spark of hope, as one is now up for auction on eBay UK. I am assuming the seller simply had too much taste to keep the item for himself.
He also mentions that only 20 of these were made, a fact that I cannot seem to back up from any source. Everyone knew it was limited edition, but only 20? For an item this spectacularly fabulous? Come on. There’s gotta be a warehouse full of these somewhere, and that warehouse needs to be bombed.
I do like how it comes with spare crystals and a glue kit, as if they expect someone to actually play this monstrosity and not lock it in a vault deep underground somewhere so it never hurts anyone again. The auction starts at approximately $670, with a buyout of $1465, depending on which conversion rates you believe. A small price to pay to save humanity from shiny pink doom.
PINK NINTENDO DS LITE - PARIS HILTON SWAROVSKI EDITION [eBay.co.uk - Thanks EZ]
Early PS3 shortages hurting more than just sales?
Filed under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Business
Chances are if you’re a gamer or eBayer vying to make a quick buck, you already know about PS3 launch shortages due to production problems. That constraint obviously curbs early sales of the console. But what if you aren’t one of those two types? Wouldn’t you assume as an average consumer that a company would have enough supply to meet the demand of a major electronics launch, especially during the holidays? Probably.
Case in point: Just read this mainstream headline from Yahoo! News that makes no mention of PS3 shortages: “Wii trounces PlayStation 3 in US sales in November.” I’ve also noticed the absence of a shortage understanding in speaking with non-gamer friends of mine. One colleague, just today, asked while offering his comprehension of the situation: “Tell me about this Nintendo Wii? All I know is that Sony’s machine is not doing well and Nintendo’s is doing great.” He had no idea of the PS3 shortage, only that it wasn’t selling well. Granted, this is just one isolated instance, but telling perchance.
But this post isn’t about a lack of shortage mentions in the unfavorable PS3 grapevine; it’s about public perception. The mojo that either makes or breaks a product’s potential for success. So perhaps early PS3 shortages are hurting more than just initial sales.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Lennon Remembered With Halo 3
26 years ago today, John Lennon, a founding member of the Beatles, was shot and killed outside his home in New York City by a deranged fan. In honor of John, someone named B33S on YouTube has posted this mashup of his song “Instant Karma” with the new Halo 3 commercial.
Halo 3: Instant Karma [YouTube - Thanks SixSider]
