Archive for January 10th, 2007
PETER MOORE: Moore On Sony’s Online Network, Company DNA
And the white-collar bitch slapping continues! Microsoft’s Peter Moore has offered his two cents on Sony’s online network, saying:
It is not in Sony’s DNA to be able to get that up and running from zero. We learned from the get go that you want single gamer profiles, you want consistent presence. I want to know where you are and what you’re playing.
It’s going to take them a couple of years to get up to speed on this. And I’m not sure that they necessarily have the talent, or that it’s built into who they are as a company.
Talking about a company’s online service is one thing, but dissing its DNA? Them fightin’ words.
Moore Smack Talks Sony [That Game Blog]
Blizzard holding Burning Crusade midnight signings
Filed under: PC, Online, RPGs, MMO
Those eagerly awaiting the upcoming expansion pack to Blizzard’s all-consuming vortex of addiction, World of Warcraft, should take note of special midnight signings happening on January 16th. Four stores in California will host members of the development team who will be happily signing copies of Burning Crusade and asking intense cosplayers to back the hell off.
Though three of the four stores have 4,500 copies available (the last one having 1,500), you can already start lining up on January 15th. If you don’t live in California and absolutely require your copy of the game to have some scibbling on it, convince a friend to go in your stead — thinly-veiled threats work a charm.
The stores and relevant addresses are listed after the break.
[Thanks Taran!]
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Rumor: Konami cancels PS3 Gradius, several others
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Action, Adventure
If the latest issue of Japan’s Famitsu magazine is to be believed, Konami has quietly cancelled several of their upcoming PS3 and Wii projects. IGN reports that an updated release list for the company has been shortened by no less than six games, one of which was a Playstation 3 version of side-scrolling shooter, Gradius. Of course, since mere absence doesn’t confirm outright cancellation, it would be best to treat this as a rumor for now.
One potential explanation is that Konami has now made enough progress on some of these titles (if they were even in development to begin with) to warrant less ambiguous descriptors. If “New Action Game” turned into Castlevania: Polka of Purgatory, the publisher would likely choose a grander announcement than simply having it pop up on a standard release list.
The removed titles are as follows:
- Gradius Series (PS3)
- Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball (PS3)
- New Action Game (PS3)
- New Role Playing Game (PS3)
- New Action Adventure Game 2 (Wii)
- Role Playing Game (Wii)
Games still appearing on the release list include two sports titles, a music game and an “action adventure” for the Wii. Pro Baseball Spirits, Winning Eleven and Metal Gear Solid 4 are also still slated for the PS3.
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PC: Hands Off: Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures
Sorry, Crecente. I know you were looking for a McWhertor on barbarian fantasy fix, but it just won’t happen. Currently in “press lockdown,” the game is on display in Microsoft’s CES booth, but I was only permitted to look, not touch.
Funcom’s product director Jørgen Tharaldsen was nice enough to keep me away from the two demo units, talking me through the highlights and features of their MMO, already three and a half years in development. The game was running in DirectX 10 mode, which looks better than the rather flat screenshot above. Rich rich foliage and lighting made the game stand out as one of the most visually impressive MMOs in recent memory.
The attention to detail was evident in things like ornate armor and weapon design, a clean HUD and impressive animation. Tharaldsen told me that the reason that horse animation looked so realistic was that they actually got motion capture data from a real horse. I think we’d have been satisfied with a motion capture from a pair of dudes in a horse costume, but we’ll take it!
If you’re not familiar with the name Funcom, they’re responsible for another well-known MMO, Anarchy Online. Perhaps you’d prefer to think of them for their PC and Xbox adventure games The Longest Journey and Dreamfall. Reader’s choice, but it seems they’re exploiting their strengths in both genres to make Conan a strong story driven MMO, rich with the mythos created by author Robert E. Howard.
Some of the highlights from Tharaldsen’s expert pitch were dynamic hand-to-hand combat techniques, custom spell recipes, sieges on player-built cities, and an extremely deep character creation tool. How deep? Well, including the requisite muscle mass, hair coloring and cup size sliders, they even have customizers on the level of nose crookedness. Perfect for your giving your barfighting mage some street cred.
Fortunately for non-Vista upgraders, the game will be available for Windows XP and Xbox 360. While cross-platform play is not confirmed, the Conan team wouldn’t rule it out. Keep your fingers crossed. We’re going to get in the beta proper soon (we hope!) and hope to have some genuine gameplay impressions available soon.
CES07: Team3D Kicked My Ass In Counter-Strike At CES
At the Sennheiser booth, members of Team3D were on hand to (BOOM) headshot any masochistic noob who longed for a beating. After looking at my twentieth gaming chair, I decided I need some more enjoyable punishment. Maybe I could show this guy a thing or two.
Despite my l33t AK skillz, I lost. By a wide margin. He threw in a couple pity kills to stop my snot-nosed sobbing, but it was pretty clear I still suck at Counter-Strike. At least I got a t-shirt I’ll never wear out of it!
CLIPS: Clips: A Bit Of The CES Crysis Demo
I walked by the Nvidia booth today, only to get suckered into another playthrough of the CES Crysis demo. My goal this time was to launch as many North Korean soldiers into the air, only to have them plummet to their doom. Muahahaha and all that. Fortunately, the lovely Richard Blakeley from Gizmodo scored some quick footage of the floor demo, so you can check out some of the action. Obviously, YouTube doesn’t do the DirectX 10 game justice, but at least you can witness some of the cool gameplay.
XBLA: Hands On: Alien Hominid HD For XBLA
It’s Alien Hominid, the 2D side scrolling shooter, but in HD.It’s hard, it’s artistically fresh, and it’s very straightforward. Shoot stuff. Throw grenades. Don’t get hit. It’s inexplicably fun. This is another strong title for Xbox Live Arcade.
Since I don’t have much more to say about it, other than “me like”, here are the Achievements for Alien Hominid HD.
Alien in Training 5
Complete level 1-1 of the game.
Hungry Yeti 10
Eat 50 KGB agents with the Yeti.
City Destroyer 10
Destroy 25 buildings during one game.
Juvenile Alien 10
Complete the game on Easy Difficulty.
Adult Alien 15
Complete the game on Medium Difficulty.
Expert Alien 20
Complete the game on Hard Difficulty.
Head Chomper 20
Head bite 50 enemies without touching the ground or firing.
Killing Spree 15
Kill 1000 enemies during one game.
Mad Hatter 20
Unlock all of the 31hats that are in the game.
Perfect Fight 30
Defeat the Final Boss without using a continue.
Survivalist 25
Survive any challenge mode for 20 minutes.
WMD 20
Reach 5000 Km in Super Soviet Missile Mastar.
Pray for a quick release!
SHARP: Sharp’s AQUOS TVs Just For Gaming
Sharp had its line of “Game Players” televisions on display in the middle of their massive CES booth. Dwarfed by the massive 108″ professional display, the pair of 1080p liquid crystal HDTVs were hooked up to PlayStation 3s, idling in attract mode.
What exactly makes these built for gaming? I’ll leave this one up to the Sharp marketing department, whose carefully worded slides are available after the jump.
The televisions come in 32″ (the LC-32GP1U) and 37″ (the LC-37GP1U) sizes and have an MSRP of $1700 and $2000 respectively. Cheap! Okay, not really that cheap and this whole “optimized for gaming thing” sounds suspect, but will you believe “pretty”?
Capcom’s official Lost Planet contest
Filed under: Culture, Business, Fashion
C
apcom’s resident blogger Brian Dunn is holding an official contest for some more Lost Planet gear. Capcom is certainly going all-out with Lost Planet promotion. Seriously, it’s some impressive marketing work. We’ve still got copies of the game to give away for your masterful pieces of photochop art.
The Capcom contest is quite a bit of work and involves you buying the game around launch to even stand a chance. The first step is to accomplish the following criteria:
- Beat the game on any difficulty level.
- Play 100 ranked matches online.
- Get a medal in each game type in ranked matches online.
You must be one of the first 10 people to do this and then send Brian a private message on his XBL gamertag. Winners get a poster signed by the Lost Planet development honchos: Inafune (Executive Producer), Takeuchi (Producer) and Oguro (Director). They’ll also win a Lost Planet t-shirt, with one of three different styles to choose from. Most importantly, entries must be posted to THIS thread on the Capcom boards. We wish all companies would put this much inventive muscle behind marketing, even if the game bites, the promotional push deserves kudos.
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SONY: Sony Marketing Wet Dream Caught On Film
It’s a man taking a picture of Lair on the PlayStation 3 with his PSP camera attachment. That PSP even has a giant PlayStation 3 wrist strap. He couldn’t be more pleased to be at the Sony booth. I’d bet dollars to donuts that’s a Vaio in his left arm. I’m sure of it!*
I still couldn’t believe I was there to witness it.
* I really have no idea.
HEAVY WEAPON: Hands On: Heavy Weapon For XBLA
Rumored to hit Xbox Live Arcade any day now, Heavy Weapon is PopCap’s cartoonish tank shooter that is not only easy to control (you merely move left and right, aiming your turret 180 degrees with the right analog stick) it’s definitely the easiest game to play at CES. And, yes, I’ve played Luxor 2.
Your tank constantly moves to the right and the sky is constantly filled with enemy aircraft. Jets, missiles, bombers, helicopters, and zeppelins will do their best (or close to it) to eliminate you by dropping courteously small amounts of missiles and bombs in your general direction.
Along the way, friendly planes will drop power ups to boost your rate of fire, shields and main weapon strength. They’ll also drop MEGA LASER parts, which you’ll need four of to deploy for a limited time. Finally, they’ll drop nukes, which will give you a screen clearing (and boss damaging) megaton explosion.
After defeating the end level boss, you’ll be given a chance to upgrade one of your tank’s abilities, from defensive enhancements, to new weapons, such as flak cannons, lasers, homing missiles, lightning bolts (!!!) and more.
Frankly, the game was just too easy. I don’t know if the difficulty was toned down for the CES demo, or if I somehow missed setting the skill level, but it was absurdly easy to the point of boredom. Granted, this is a PopCap title, but during my co-op run through of five levels, I lost only one tank. Hopefully, the challenge of the game will increase, because there was a simplistic fun about it, but I can see many gamers becoming quickly uninterested.
Rumor: MTV acquiring 1UP, adding to their collection
Filed under: Business
GameDaily.biz reports a “highly-placed” source says MTV is looking to purchase 1UP.com and GameVideos.com from Ziff Davis. This seems probable considering Ziff Davis is selling the Ziff Davis Game Group and MTV has been on a gaming acquisition bender, purchasing GameTrailers, Atom Entertainment and Guitar Hero developer Harmonix. MTV’s purchase of 1UP.com would allow them to acquire some gaming editorial clout, and because they already have GameTrailers they can either disband, or assimilate, GameVideos.com.
Currently there is no expectation MTV will purchase any of the Ziff Davis gaming publications (EGM, Games for Windows). Revenue in the print publications has been flat and the only reason the game group didn’t lose revenue was due to the online sections. Ziff Davis’s earnings release states, “Lower print advertising and circulation revenues for the group’s three print magazines were mostly offset by a nearly four-fold increase in the group’s online revenues.” Ziff Davis corporation had cash and cash equivalents drop by $5.4 million through September.
These Ziff Davis Game Group stories and rumors have been growing exponentially over the last couple weeks. So, if MTV is only interested in the online portion and they’ve been keeping the publications afloat — what’s that going to mean for Electronic Gaming Monthly and Games for Windows?
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Today’s tiniest game video: Wii played on Game Boy Advance
Filed under: Culture, Nintendo Wii, Sports, Video
Okay, before y’all fall over yourselves telling us that he’s using a special cartridge allowing him to pipe in a video signal to his Game Boy Advance, let us beat you to the punch — we know that. It still looks pretty cool playing the Wii on a GBA screen. Though why you would even want to do this is an entirely different matter. Also, just forget about that sucker being portable. For now, it’s just a nifty little “Gee whiz!” feature that’ll make you pine for a Wii Boy Portable one day. We can dream.
Peep the vid after the jump and imagine everything else you can play on that tiny screen, thus destroying your eyesight and/or going blind. You’ve been warned.
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CLIP: Clips: GRAW 2, Nuff Said
Hit the jump for two more. Man, I just can’t get enough of this stuff. And that airstrike video (number three). Holy shit!
Today in Joystiq: January 10, 2007
Joystiquery
Joyswag Photochop: Lost Planet, found entries - Day Four
Today’s yummiest game video: Cooking Mama Wii ’soup’
News
Nintendo expects to double profits this year
Nyko’s PS3 and Wii charging stations
Fictional story about violent video game causes real censorship
Sony brings Buzz! to UK classrooms
Console makers sued over analog joysticks
Preliminary: Sony missed 2M shipment target in ‘06
Burning Crusade burning up eBay [update 1
Japan gets "champagne gold" PSP, U.S. gets jealous
Epic dismisses NVIDIA evidence, Gears not on PC (yet)
Nintendo to officially open shop in Korea with DS
Command & Conquer 3 to support 360 webcam victory dances
Microsoft execs tag-team PS3’s online service
Microsoft confirms upgraded 360 for research
Dead Rising sequels shambling forth
Japan-based games dominate list of all-time best sellers
TAC Freedom V wireless problem and how to fix
Nintendo holds key to franchise longevity, profitability
Gears of War video — new maps walkthrough
The price of nostalgia: wallet-busting arcade cabinets on Amazon
MotorStorm 720p, 30fps (not True HD)
Rumors & Speculation
Gamer: the ideal conformist?
Apple iPhone: a threat to portable consoles?
Culture
Finally! A Wii-proof lamp built to survive Wiisports
Alive and gaming in Baghdad
Facing the onset of ennuii
Halo 3 documentary broken down into itty, bitty pieces
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RAZER: A Visit With Razer (Gadget Lust Within)
There’s nothing like a meeting with a company like Razer, maker of high-end and professional PC gaming products, to make your current PC set up feel wicked ghetto. Such was the case when I visited the group’s CES booth yesterday to take part in a demo of the new Mako sound system. A simple 2.1 speaker setup, the Mako was co-developed with THX engineers, meaning, yeah, it’s THX certified.
Since I’m currently rocking no speakers (I’ve been without a PC sound system since my move in November), it’s actually a perfect set for my needs. I don’t have the space to install 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound just for my PC. Hopefully I’ll find three one hundred dollar bills on the ground over the next few days to pay for it, because I was amazed at the rich, deep, room filling sound coming from three (admittedly large) speakers.
If you’re in the market, you should try to get a demo. These were pretty damn impressive. Afterward, I got some hands on time with a few other products which are after the jump.
Normally, I’d consider worrying about keypress lag minimized from 8 milliseconds to 1 millisecond and finely tuned 72 gram key resistance focusing solely on the details, but the Tarantula keyboard is still super cool. Since I, ghetto PC gamer, am still tapping away on the included PS2 keyboard I bought about ten years ago I think I’m due for an upgrade. Stored profiles, programmable macros, a nifty little light attachment accessory for nighttime gaming, I’m getting a little gadget jealous.
Since I’m pretty comfortable with my Logitech wireless optical mouse, I was less excited about some of the gaming mice on display, but they did have a very solid feel with amazing response. I also happen to suck and suck hard at most first-person shooters, so an extra 1200 dpi resolution isn’t going to help me out.
But Razer afficionados should be aware that the company will be re-releasing 10,000 Razer Boomslang mice for the device’s ten year anniversary. Very cool.
Hopefully we’ll get some offered samples and see how our respective games improve.
MotorStorm 720p, 30fps (not True HD)
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Driving
The ‘True HD’ concept is certainly off to a rocky start on Sony’s console that could. Despite confirmation from SCEA senior VP of marketing Peter Dille that MotorStorm would rocket to the US at 60fps in glorious 1080p, Sony today rescinded that remark. MotorStorm, alas, will be presented in lowly 720p, chugging along at 30fps.
Seriously though, those numbers will keep MotorStorm competitive — and in HD. We just couldn’t miss out on an opportunity to muffle the True HD buzz.
[Thanks, Jonah]
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EA: Hands On: Crysis!
The CES demo of Crytek’s gorgeous first-person shooter Crysis is a brief one—too brief, considering the amazing DirectX 10 graphics and effects. You could run through the thing in about 5 minutes without really trying, but you’ll want to stick around for a bit longer to take it all in. It’s just a small taste of the new features and technology that the Crytek team have stuffed into their futuristic sci-fi shooter.
The demo level takes place in North Korea at a remote army base surrounded by a thick jungle. The Crytek team have made almost everything destructible, including the dense foliage that casts realistic shadows and reacts to gunfire. The first thing I did in the demo was destroy a couple of those son of a bitch trees, just to see their leaves flapping about. Then it was time to waste some unsuspecting North Korean soliders, who, unfortunately for them, didn’t have god mode switched on.
While only two weapons were available, the assault rifle gives you the option to customize it on the fly. You can add a silencer, change ammo types, add a sniper scope, but the default settings work just fine. The game is rife with motion blur—simply mouselook left or right quickly, and you’ll see it in action at any point.
The game also uses blur and depth of field visual effects during gunplay. Look through the assault rifle sights and you’ll lose focus outside the radius of your area of fire. Very cool.
Your character is also outfitted with a full body suit that grants you different abilities, depending on what you have switched on. Switch the focus to strength and you can pick up (and throw) heavy objects. Need some cover? Pick up a barrel (don’t worry, it won’t explode) then launch it at your enemies. No gravity gun required. The same can be done when you go straight fisticuffs. Turn on strength, walk up to the nearest soldier, grab him by the throat, then launch him across the tarmac. Sadly, you can’t pick up corpses and use them as weapons or cover, but when I suggested it, the idea seemed warmly received.
Other powers, such as camo will help you blend in with your surroundings, dynamically changing the suit’s color to match things like the local flora or stucco walls. It’s similar to the suit worn by Snake in Metal Gear Solid 4 if you’re familiar with the TGS trailer.
After exhausting the supply of North Korean soldiers by killing them in every way imaginable, a military helicopter comes in to try to finish you off. It put up a pretty good fight, laying down heavy fire and squeezing off the occasional rocket. Your best bet is to take out the rockets on the wing with gunfire (there’s a mounted machine gun on a nearby ATV) then take out the rotor and enjoy the spectacular crash. The explosions in this game are amazing, but seeing one occur about two meters from my face brought the game’s frame rate into the single digits. While it wasn’t a beefy demo machine, you should seriously consider some hardware upgrades before attempting to run Crysis.
The game ships sometime in the middle of 2007, so start planning your hardware purchases accordingly. This game kicks ass.
BLU-RAY SHOCKER: Sony to Include Portable Movie Files on Blu-Ray DVDs
Wow. In a move that runs against what has always seemed to be a deep-seeded paranoia about piracy, Sony told Bloomberg today that they plan to start including portable files on Blu-ray disc to let users copy movies to laptops and other portable electronics.
Sony Pictures Entertainment will include portable files on Blu-Ray DVDs that can be transferred without a download, David Bishop, head of Sony’s home entertainment unit, said in an interview this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Sony may add the feature this year, Bishop said.
“It’s not currently part of anything on our current release schedule, but we’ll probably roll it out sometime this year,” Bishop said on Jan. 8.
Thank you Sony, thank you very much. Please, please, please, don’t forget your poor, lost PSP when you do that. Can you imagine buying a Blu-ray DVD that includes a free PSP version of the film? HOOOOOT!
Joyswag Photochop: Lost Planet, found entries - Day Four
Filed under: Culture, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, First Person Shooters, Online, Joyswag
Only one day left in the Lost Planet contest, so burn the midnight oil tonight and send us your last ditch efforts. Pull out all the stops, burn through a graphics card or two, and give us your best shot. We triple-dog dare you.
Today’s first winning entry comes from, er … Untitled. Did your parents really dislike you or were you a clone who escaped? Very simplistic design, but well-done and very zen. Meditate a bit while you stare at it and chant your favorite mantra. It brings Marble Madness to mind, and also looks like a sweet game to be played with a Wiimote.
Check out winner number two after the jump, and remind yourself one more time about all the contest details. That is, if they aren’t already burned into your brain by this point. If you haven’t entered yet, give it a go. If you’ve been trying and haven’t won, keep it going. We’ve only got ten copies of the game to give out, and a lot of entries, but you never know what’ll happen.
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