Archive for March 2nd, 2007
Japanese hardware sales, Feb. 19 - Feb. 25: never say noir edition
Filed under: Nintendo DS, Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Business
CASE FILE B-853, “A MATTER OF NO LAUGHING”
I get hired to track down a lot of things. Money. Criminals. Dames. Sometimes it’s all three rolled into one. The important thing is that these things are … things. Things you can hold on to. Things you can rough up a little. Things you can press your lips up against in passionate embrace, only to have your heart shattered like a stack of porcelain plates frolicking on the train tracks.
And that’s just the money.
What if the thing you’re looking for is no thing at all? What if it’s an idea or a feeling or a state of mind? How the hell was I gonna find missing humor? How the hell was I gonna crack this case?
ATTACHED EVIDENCE: SALES CHARTS FOR FEB. 19 - FEB. 25.
- DS Lite: 136,128 
718 (0.52%)
- PSP: 100,210 
65,705 (190.42%)
- Wii: 78,506 14,888 (23.40%)
- PS3: 19,315 1,361 (6.58%)
- PS2: 15,054 1,138 (7.03%)
- Xbox 360: 4,183 1,027 (19.71%)
- GBA SP: 1,035 192 (22.78%)
- Game Boy Micro: 907 46 (4.83%)
- Gamecube: 323 24 (6.92%)
- DS Phat: 132 21 (13.73%)
- GBA: 59 19 (47.50%)
[Informant: GamesAreFun]
For reference: Previous Japanese hardware sales charts
Continue reading Japanese hardware sales, Feb. 19 - Feb. 25: never say noir edition
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Today’s hottest video: New Battlefield teaser
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Video
A new EA/DICE Battlefield game is in production for release this year, and a GameTrailers video of the title scores our pick for the day. The self-referential machinima of Battlefield: Bad Company features two soldiers verbally sparing with an announcer, dodging enemy fire while trying to stop the “In a world…”-style announcements. But behind this gimmick, the video shows a few gameplay elements, like how buildings crumble when shot.
See the video after the break.
Continue reading Today’s hottest video: New Battlefield teaser
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Today in Joystiq: March 2, 2007
Joystiquery
Conan impressions from THQ Gamers’ Day
Critiquing video games: Let’s not get ahead of ourselves
Playing Dirty: Night Elves on their knees
Poll: How much are you playing 360?
Today’s Princeliest game video: Prince of Persia Wii - Levers & Ledges
News
Worms wiggles wantonly onto XBLA next Wednesday
Stuntman: Ignition - like Burnout on steroids
PS3 will eventually upscale your awful DVDs
Lost Planet multiplayer patched
Ready 2 Rumble 2 Return on multiple platforms
Alice now Universal Binary on Mac
Casual observation: Phil Harrison poking the press
EA busting into rhythm games ’sooner than you think’
Rumors & Speculation
Rumor: Puerto Rico coming to XBLA
Dirty Harry developer booted from project?
Culture & Community
Ten clichés in gaming (this list is a bonus one)
Counterpoint: Games don’t cause violence
Living on lava: that’s hot
Love to hate you baby: Gaming’s public enemies
Pornage or pwnage, dis or dat
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Pornage or pwnage, dis or dat
Not getting enough out of your daily You Don’t Know Jack’s Dis or Dat daily challenge? Liquid Generation has a similar, but dirtier, game for you: Pornage or pwnage. The rules are similar to Dis or Dat, players just pick whether the sound they hear is from a game or a porn. Sadly, it all ends too quickly. Yeah, that’s what she said.
Speaking of You Don’t Know Jack, it would be nice if Xbox Live Arcade, or one of the other consoles, would bring back the insane game show. If there were any series perfectly suited for microtransaction expansion, YDKJ is certainly it.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
EA busting into rhythm games ’sooner than you think’
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Rhythm
Much like its title implies, Guitar Hero arrived as a sort of savior for a rhythm genre that had grown a little too obsessed with hypnotic arrows for its own good. The rocking success of Red Octane’s franchise thrust the genre back into the console limelight, with its financial gyrations quickly drawing the fixation of several publishers. According to a recent interview conducted by Stephen Totilo of MTV News, EA is one such a publisher.
Upon being asked about EA’s plans in response to the success enjoyed by titles such as Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution, EA’s Worldwide Executive of Music and Marketing indicates that the gigantic publisher is already positioning itself on the diving board. “I’ve been pushing for a long time to be honest with you,” says Steve Schnur. “I think you’ll see us breaking into the genre sooner than you think.”
Of course, one could argue that EA is already doing so with the upcoming Boom Boom Rocket, an Xbox Live Arcade title which sees (and hears) players detonating fireworks in rhythm to music. Is the Bizarre-developed title merely the first step in an increasingly complex dance maneuver? And more importantly, will there be an insane peripheral? If anybody’s going to exploit the untapped Glockenspiel-breakdancing market, it’ll be EA.
See also: Electronic Arts mixes on iTunes
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Dirty Harry developer booted from project?
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Business
Foundation 9 developer The Collective is no longer working on a Dirty Harry game for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, according to a GameSpot report. Apparently the studio has undergone a significant downsizing, with an alleged 30 employees being laid off or in the process of being relocated to other Foundation 9 studios. An undisclosed source also told GameSpot that the WBIE team managing the project had “been dissolved.”
Despite the upheaval, WBIE senior vice president Samantha Ryan confirms Dirty Harry is still on, stating, “We are moving forward with the Dirty Harry next generation videogames and will be changing our development plans in keeping with the best interest of the franchise legacy.” Part of that change involves transitioning the game into the hands of a new developer.
The future of The Collective and its other title, Harker, are yet unknown.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Casual observation: Phil Harrison poking the press
Filed under: Business
The pressure of keeping up with all the spin might finally be getting to Sony and their executives. Yesterday’s spectacular lapse in judgment by Dave Karakker against Kotaku, which was condemned across the internet, came as Sony’s Phil Harrison has been on an awkward press poking bender of his own.
Simon Carless of Gamasutra was the first to experience the Harrison press attack, he was called out for quoting improperly. Carless puts up a strong defense and un-spins Harrison’s allegations. Next on the chopping block was MTV News’ Stephen Totilo, who also went on to defend his work. This all comes after last week’s Game Head where Harrison made comments toward Geoff Keighley about negative things said in the press. Timing wise, the Harrison incidents all happened at the exact same time. The Carless and Totilo quotes both come from an N’Gai Croal piece, which was conducted at the D.I.C.E. Summit. The Keighley interview also occurred at the same convention. So, although these incidents are playing out over time, maybe Harrison was just having a bad time at the slots in Vegas. Well, we’ll certainly get a better sense of Sony and their views on the press next week at the Game Developers Conference.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Critiquing video games: Let’s not get ahead of ourselves
Filed under: Culture
GameDaily has posted another excerpt from the forthcoming Videogame Style Guide examining the difference between reviewing games versus critiquing them and how the latter will ultimately help advance the medium. Author David Thomas explains that reviews merely define what something is, while critique aims to answer what it means. For instance, basic critique aims to share if what’s being reviewed would be liked by others. Do you, would you, or would we collectively like this game?
The gist of Thomas’s argument is that even though game reviews have advanced past mere explanation, our industry will never garner the respect it deserves until game journalists first embrace developed criticism; criticism which attempts to address what a game means beyond that of feelings. “Many writers shy away from these big questions because they feel that bringing up these kinds of issues is pretentious or making a big deal out of a little thing — a videogame,” says Thomas. It is pretentious. Saying video games need developed critique at this stage is like saying b-movies are worthy of profound analysis. Intellectual questions should only be addressed when the medium itself has completely developed.
Until game storylines and their execution fully mature (think of the many embarrassing game dialogs), there’s no need in trying to figure out “what it means” if the authors can’t even share a believable story. Note: I’m not suggesting the interactive experience of games as a whole are b-movie quality, but their storylines and ability to galvanize emotion generally are. On a double note: Current game writers need not be blamed nor ostracized as a majority if not all started out as designers or developers. But they do need assistance in the form of training and/or contributions by professional screenwriters if that’s were we want to take this thing. Our medium’s stories are still underdeveloped. Let’s not jump the gun on their critique.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Love to hate you baby: Gaming’s public enemies
Filed under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3
Talking about things in the industry that the public love to hate, there are a few things that float right to the top. Games.net published their list of the obvious members of this “love to hate” club and go into some detail about how they can turn the hate around. The honored members are:
- Sony
- EA
- ESRB
- Gamestop
- Gamepro Magazine
- Xbox Live Marketplace
The ESRB being on this list is a little awkward. The ratings board is actually a defense against legislation within the industry. It’s also far more open and obvious than the Motion Picture Association of America’s rating system. The marketplace also makes an odd appearance due to their recent gaming drought, but that’s got nothing to do with loving to hate. The other members of this group have a history of hate; let’s hope they turn it around.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Gallery: Loki
We just got our hands on some screens for upcoming action role-playing game Loki. The game, in development by Cyanide, has players taking on the role of one of four heroes: a Norse warrior, a Greek fighter, an Egyptian sorcerer or an Aztec shaman.
Features:
Epic adventure through four great mythologies - Aztec, Egyptian, Greek and Norse - allowing the player to live through many of the key episodes that mark these cultures (the siege of Troy, Ragnarok, etc) and setting him on the path of the most prominent figures within each episodes (Achilles, Thor, Akhenaton).
Choose from four different heroes with their own attributes and powers. Each hero has a stunning array of spells and skills to help them in their quest.
More than 100 beautifully detailed monsters of all shapes and sizes.
Dare to take on mythological creatures that struck fear into the hearts of our ancestors, including Fenrir the giant wolf, and the Minotaur in his labyrinth.
Weapons are composed of two individual parts (loosely “handle” and “striking edge”) and from different materials, and can be customized at the village forge to change characteristics. Magic runes can also multiply the wonder of a weapon.
Play the adventure with your friends as part of a group or take on others in PvP mode inside a dedicated online arena, or dice with death by taking up one of the online challenges.
Looks an awful lot like they are striving for the God of War or Titan Quest look. The game hits PCs this June.
Alice now Universal Binary on Mac
Filed under: Culture, Mac, Action, Business
American McGee’s Alice has been updated into a Universal Binary, and the tens of Mac gamers who both use Intel Macs and enjoyed this title — or at least its gnarled art direction — can now run the game natively. (Okay, we jest; there must be at least hundreds of us, including this writer and other Joystiq contributors.)
We salute Aspyr for offering a free update to this older title. This sort of support makes us want to keep playing Mac titles, even though the platform’s gaming future is uncertain at best. Now excuse us while we dig up old copies of Alice and recite incantations for a Deus Ex update.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
First Vanguard Update Hits Next Week
Hot on the heels of a modestly successful launch despite overall bugginess, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is getting their first major content update this coming Tuesday, featuring new monsters, new weapons, two new adventuring areas, and “Nine dungeons with revamped art and/or lighting.” That last bit confuses me a little. The game has been out what, a month now, and they’re already revamping dungeons and lighting? Shouldn’t that read “Finally finished those nine dungeons”?
To celebrate the one month anniversary of the game (like in elementary school, remember?), double kill experience shall be granted to all starting March 3rd and ending March 5th, and all players who successfully setup an account before March 31st will be granted a special in-game title (I’m betting on Sucker) that they can apply before their characters’ names.
I like to rag on Vaguard a great deal, but I really see a lot of potential in the game, and a content update (that isn’t completely patches) right out of the gate bodes well for the kind of support behind making the title a success.
VANGUARD: SAGA OF HEROESTM FIRST GAME UPDATE SCHEDULED FOR TUESDAY MARCH 6TH
Celebration of 1st Month Includes a Founder’s Reward and Double Experience Weekend
WHAT: Players will be able to sink their teeth into a wealth of new content with the first Vanguard: Saga of Heroes game update on Tuesday, March 6, 2007. New villains with new weapons in all new areas headline the additional content and changes available via the game update. Included in this update are:
• Dozens of new weapon models
• Six brand new NPC races to battle: Djinn, Mnalus, Mudmen, Sand Giants, Ichtakhta and Xennu
• Two new mid to high level adventuring areas: Deep Swamp and Gorgalog
• Nine dungeons with revamped art and/or lighting such as: Kalendra’s Coven, Nusibe Necropolis and Vol Tuniel
For the full update notes visit www.vanguardsoh.com
Double Adventuring Kill Experience will be awarded to players from Saturday, March 3rd, 5:00am PST (Friday, March 2nd, 8:00pm PST for Europeans) until Monday, March 5th, 5:00am PST (Sunday, March 4th, 8:00pm PST for Europeans)
A Founder’s reward, in the form of an in-game title, will be granted to players who have purchased a copy of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes between launch (January 30, 2007) and March 31, 2007, and successfully registered an account. This title can be applied to each character created on a qualifying account now or in the future. In order to qualify a player will need to have consumed the account key that comes in the box (if purchased at retail), from a Web site (if purchased digitally) or successfully completed a purchase on the Station Store by the March 31st cut off date (11:59pm PST). The title is scheduled to be awarded in early April. More details regarding a full Veteran Rewards program will be announced in the coming months.
WHEN:
Game Update #1: Tuesday March 6th
Founder’s Reward: In-game title granted to players who purchase a copy of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes between January 30, 2007 and March 31, 2007. Title awarded in early April, 2007.
Double XP is scheduled for: March 3rd - March 5th for NA servers and March 2nd - March 4th for European servers.
###
Ready 2 Rumble 2 Return on multiple platforms
Filed under: Nintendo DS, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Fighting, Sports
Though esteemed game designers fight to deny it, a great deal of modern games are built upon the solid foundation of human beings punching each other in the face. Swords, guns, and uncharacteristically aggressive dolphins are occasionally added to the mix, but handheld weapons simply pale in comparison to the might and satisfaction imparted by unassisted knuckles hurtling into an opponent’s surprised jaw. Upholding this fine tradition is 10Tacle Studios, which today announced a third game in the Ready 2 Rumble boxing franchise.
Further details are practically non-existent, save for the fact that it will be appearing on “various videogame platforms.” The Ready 2 Rumble series, which first stepped into the ring during 1999’s Dreamcast daze, was adored for its amusing characters, over-the-top boxing action and, as mentioned earlier, its entertaining depiction of people punching each other. In the face.
The game will be developed in conjunction with AKI Corporation, the Japanese group responsible for several entries in the Def Jam and WWF Wrestlemania franchises.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
John Edwards SL Campaign HQ Attacked
John Edwards’ official blog is claiming that Republican gamers trashed the presidential candidate’s Second Life campaign headquarters with Bush 08 tags.
Shortly before midnight (CST) on Monday, February 26, a group of republican Second Life users, some sporting “Bush ‘08″ tags, vandalized the John Edwards Second Life HQ. They plastered the area with Marxist/Lenninist posters and slogans, a feces spewing obsenity, and a photoshopped picture of John in blackface, all the while harrassing visitors with right-wing nonsense and obsenity-laden abuse of Democrats in general and John in particular.
One of Edwards’ in-game supporters witnessed the event and filed a complaint with Linden Labs for possible disciplinary action. I remember once covering an election in Maryland and when I got back to my car it had political stickers all over the bumper. You gotta love those guys.
John Edwards Second Life Campaign HQ Vandalized [Game Politics]
Living on lava: that’s hot
Filed under: Culture, PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Adventure, Online
As much as we do really hate to quote Paris Hilton, that is pretty hot. Chris Jensen at GameAlmighty has an entertaining and interesting story up about how so many games feature a lava level, have villain’s lairs built around lava, or just feel the need to put molten rock in there somewhere. To quote from the article, “…have you ever stopped to consider what it must have been like to build a castle or dungeon near or on a river of lava? It breaks every rule in the OSHA handbook, I’m sure.”
He breaks down the difficulties on building things around lava, let alone living near it. It takes a very hardy soul, and we admit that we would probably start thinking about moving if we had a lava flow nearby. Of course if we did, we could also just call in Tommy Lee Jones and Anne Heche to save the day. If any knows how to corral lava and work with it, it’s those two.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Ready 2 Rumble 2 Rumble Anew
They game that launched a thousand Dreamcasts only to completely fall off the map around 2002 is making a comeback, thanks to 10tacle studios, who have just announced that they have procured the Ready 2 Rumble license. 10tacle has tagged former Def Jam developer AKI Corporation to develop the first game in the series, which will be seeing a release across “various videogame platforms.”
I didn’t realize how much I missed this series until seeing this press release. The game was completely overshadowed by EA’s Fight Night, which of course took a much more realistic turn on the boxing genre. I find it much more pleasing beating up cartoony characters for some reason. Let’s hope they get the game going soon, because now would be the perfect time to bring back the “The First Lady” from the second game for another couple of rounds.
10TACLE STUDIOS gets “Ready 2 Rumble”
New game to be realized for various videogame platforms
Darmstadt (Germany) / Singapore, 2nd March 2007 - With the third iteration of the arcade style satirical boxing game “Ready 2 Rumble” 10TACLE STUDIOS AG supplements their product portfolio with yet another popular international brand. With sales of almost three million copies worldwide the two predecessors are among the most successful games in the boxing genre. Singapore subsidiary 10TACLE STUDIOS Pte Ltd. will be realising the new title together with licensor, The Buffer Partnership and executive producer Stereo Mode. The new version of “Ready 2 Rumble” is to be released for various videogame platforms. The Japanese experts from AKI Corporation, who have established themselves as one of the leading game development studios within the genre, with hits such as “Def Jam” and “WWF Wrestlemania”, have been entrusted with the first development.
10TACLE STUDIOS AG anticipates a turnover through distribution of the game of more than 20 million US dollars by 2010.
10TACLE STUDIOS AG CEO Michele Pes explains: “With the release of “Ready 2 Rumble” 10TACLE STUDIOS AG is focusing on one of the major game brands in the market. The family-friendly, humorous realisation of the boxing sport is unique and an ideal supplement to our product portfolio.”
“We are very pleased to have experienced development partners like AKI Corporation and the producing team of Stereo Mode on board for the realisation of this project. At the same time, this project underlines the strategic position of 10TACLE STUDIOS Pte Ltd. in the Asian games market as a full-service provider for development, production, funding and distribution,” adds Aroon Tan, CEO of 10TACLE STUDIOS Pte. Ltd.
For many years, Michael Buffer, the most famous boxing ring announcer in history, has opened the biggest international boxing events with the phrase “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble®”. Moreover, “Ready 2 Rumble” stands now for one of the most popular brands in boxing games. In this game, caricatures of numerous celebrities take it to the ring, where they have to prove their fighting spirit in battles of epically hilarious proportions. Excellent animation, action-packed moves and ironic commentary have already made the predecessors top-sellers and provided enduring gaming fun.
Counterpoint: Games don’t cause violence
Filed under: Culture
According to sociologist Karen Sternheimer from the University of Southern California, homicide arrests among teens are down 77% since 1993. That’s the year Doom was introduced: gamers fell in love with the new and aggressively named “first-person shooter” genre, and parents feared it and similar games would teach kids how to kill.
Depending on how accurate Sternheimers figures are, that clearly didn’t happen. We’re not ignorant to the fact that mass media holds a powerful influence on consumers (for better or for worse). But the archaic belief that video games encourage mass killing rather than merely galvanizing an already unstable individual in the minority is just flawed. The number of people playing games is up as crime rates continue to decline. The correlation isn’t there.
So why is it so popular to blame games? Hit the read link for an interesting take (in PDF). The short answer; you blame what you don’t understand.
[via FierceGameBiz]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Lost Planet multiplayer patched
Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Online
Capcom! How could you do this to us? We just… we just weren’t ready… You said March 9 — but it’s March 2. That’s so not right. Updates should never be on time, let alone a week early! C’mon, you gotta make us bitch and beg a little, you know?
Now see what you’ve done? You’ve gone and set the bar too high; you’ve carelessly exceeded our expectations. What are we supposed to do — just place Lost Planet in the disc tray and update away? You make us sick, Capcom. Sweaty. Rotten. Sick.
Complete patch details follow…
Continue reading Lost Planet multiplayer patched
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Worms Live To Finally Arrive
After several miscasts, Microsoft and Team 17 are finally baiting the hook, hoping to catch thousands of Xbox Live Arcade players next week with the release of Worms, the classic game of invertebrate combat. The old favorite is set to become a new favorite in full HD goodness, with support for up to four players via Xbox Live. You can obliterate opposing oligochaeta with 22 different weapons, including the bomb that inspired World of Warcraft’s greatest engineering marvel, the exploding sheep. It’s enough to keep all ten of your hearts racing, all for a measly 800 MS points.
I’ve been waiting for this game for so long it isn’t funny. Special thanks to Microsoft for finally giving the game the green light to be release the week of GDC, when I will be over a thousand miles away from my Xbox 360. Bastards.
Worms XBLA next week [Eurogamer]
Ten clichés in gaming (this list is a bonus one)
A gamer will come across several “familiar roads” during the course of his/her tenure. You are familiar with these roads, be it a similar plot twist, story line, or gameplay mechanic. Though the overuse doesn’t make it wrong or right (what medium doesn’t use familiarity when engaging their audience), it does make the strategies cliché. Game Informer examines 10 of the most popular ones in no particular order. So who are you going to pick? The slow guy that does a lot of damage or the speedy, weak hipster?
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
