Archive for March 9th, 2007
The Real, True Origins of the Triforce?
Earlier, we posted a debt collection agency with a Triforce logo on it as kind of a ha-ha look at that. It was totally superficial and had no deeper cultural connotations whatsoever. But Japan-based reader Ryan sent us the following:
I was in Kamakura on a vacation last weekend, and I spotted this local Kamon around a shrine near a really nice little marketplace. But I remembered Kotaku’s posting about Superior Tax Collectors, where they used a symbol similar to the triforce.
Fascinating, truly fascinating.
Clip: No More Heroes Trailer
Ah, gameplay. Excellent. So far so good. It’s at least looking real nice.
DESTROYMAN!
Get Shoko-tan’s Autograph!
Our favorite cat head sucking, Super Robot Taisen W promoting fujyoshi (female otaku) Shoko-tan has scribbled her name and a cat head (go figure!) for Famitsu to give away to five lucky readers. In non-related gaming news, but totally related Shoko-tan news, hit the jump for a obsessively cool rendering of her face!
Shoko-tan’s Sign [Famitsu]
HL2: Episode 2 A Little Longer
Fringe Drinking are reporting that HL2: Episode 2 is going to clock in at around 8 hours. Doug Lombardi:
Episode 1 was about six hours of gameplay, and Episode 2 will be closer to eight hours of gameplay
Six? What, was that your grandmother playing, Doug? Ep 1 was 3-4 hours tops, so this should translate to about 4-5 hours worth. Perhaps sensing we’re getting a little bored with waiting 12-18 months to play 4 hours of Half-Life 2, he offers:
Episode 1 took 18 months to complete and Episode 2 will end up being about 13 to 14 months, so we’re trimming it down. I think we’ll get closer to a year and be on a 12 month cycle. We’ll see how it goes after this trilogy is done.
See how it goes? You do that. Tell you what, wake me when you’re done.
Valve: Half-Life 2 Episode 2 Will Be Longer [Fringe Drinking, via CVG]
Castle Crashers? 2008. Bummer.
Well, this is upsetting. How long do you think until Castle Crashers is done?
A year. Which means, this being March 2007, we shouldn’t expect to see it until at least this time next year. March 2008. Ouch.
If you want someone to blame, blame Microsoft - by upping the official size of XBLA games to 250mb, they’ve given The Behemoth more room to cram in more features and more content, which they’re obliging by doing just that.
And with that, bad news turns into good, and we’re all happy! Right?
Castle Crashers likely due 2008, receiving more content [Joystiq, via 1UP]
Shivering Isles Sets You Back 2400 MS Points
Bethesda have announced the release date and price for Oblivion’s Shivering Isles expansion: March 27 (that’s for PC and 360), USD$30 (2400 MS points).
That’s a lotta clams, especially for 360 owners when you put it in context. It’s double what you’d have paid for Lumines, which used to be the most exorbitant thing on Xbox Live. Then again, Lumines isn’t a reported 30 hours worth of gameplay. Unless you’re completely wasted.
What do you lot think? Me, I’m calling it a little on the steep side. $25 might have made a sweeter proposition.
New Fan Interview [Elder Scrolls Forums]
Super Columbine, What It All Meant And Means
Newsweek’s N’Gai Croal has a big three part interview with GDC director Jamil Moledina (dashing fella above). In the last part both talk about the Super Columbine Massacre RPG, a story we broke previously. Both look back on the controversary with 20-20 hindsight, giving us nuggets like this from Jamil:
It doesn’t matter whether this is a really good game or not. What matters is the ability of the entire artistic community to have a venue to show something. The question of merit is for the public to decide. It seems to me to be one of the basic principles of our society.
…And from N’Gai:
The metaphor that I like to use—and I know that I’m sort of rambling on—we ’see’ games with our hands, and there are many people who because they don’t know how to play games, they can’t see what games really are, they can’t see what games have the potential to become. So they’re locked into the mindset that games are toys, and they’re like, ‘Why would you put this filth in the hands of our kids?’ But games are so much more than that.
It ends up being less an interview and more a dialogue. A fascinating one at that.
GDC Director Talks Columbine [Level Up]
Halo 3 Hasn’t Forsaken Splitscreen
Today’s edition of the Bungie Weekly Update provides soothing splitscreen relief, not coincidentally, I’m sure, timed alongside this week’s release of Motorstorm. While that game may not support multiplayer on the same screen, Bungie swears Halo 3 will. And it’ll look good on your last-gen TV, to boot.
Well I make no apologies for Halo 3’s lack of splitscreen multiplayer, primarily because it WILL of course have splitscreen multiplayer. That’s a vital part of the Halo experience and one vastly improved by the advent of high def TVs. Basically with a big LCD or plasma, the splitscreen experience takes on almost luxurious overtones.
Everyone done wiping their brows? Good. Keep on reading for more Halo 3 progress, including graphics updates, A-hole button changes, and, yes, even grass technology improvements.
Bungie Weekly Update [Bungie.net]
Phil Harrison: PS3 Can’t Support Exclusive GTA IV
GTA IV, not exclusive. Phil, thoughts?
I don’t think PS3 has the install base to support Rockstar’s investment in GTA IV on its own.
His thinking being, Rockstar have pumped too much money into the game to get a return on it from just the PS3. On this, he’s probably 100% correct. But he then goes on to say he believes that once the PS3 shifts more units it’ll be able to secure more exclusives.
Call me crazy, but I always thought you scored exclusives to drive hardware sales. People wanted GTA III, they could only get it on PS2, they bought a PS2. Waiting for your hardware to sell before securing exclusives sounds kind of…different, especially since so long as the 360 enjoys an advantage in the number of consoles sitting under televisions wouldn’t it be the machine attracting the big third-party exclusives?
That’s exactly what went down with the PS2. But hey, whaddoiknow?
PS3 Not Enough for GTA IV [IGN]
PS3 UT3 Supports Keyboard, Mouse, SIXAXIS
I got my hands on Unreal Tournament 3 for the PLAYSTATION 3 this week at GDC, surprisingly enough, but only got to spend a few minutes with the demo before the expo hall shut down. The version of UT3 running on the show floor still had some work to be done, but it will still quite lovely to look at. Everything was all super-polygony and pretty-lighted and sexy-textured, showing off the Unreal Engine 3 goods and the PS3’s poly-pushing prowess.
Since my impressions were so brief—basically me in God Mode trying out each readily available weapon against the droves of dumb-as-rocks enemy bots—I’ll withhold my opinion until I’ve properly formed one.
Gamespy, on the other hand has some neat details on the game, including info on Unreal Tournament 3’s weapons and control scheme. The good news, as you’ve probably figured out by the title of this post, is that you can choose the stock SIXAXIS controller, with tilt-look, or go PC-style with a USB keyboard and mouse. Nice!
Unreal Tournament 3 Preview [Gamespy]
Best Wii Ad Yet: Tiger Woods Golf
I can’t really add anything to this spot. It’s a Wii commercial. For Tiger Woods 2007. It’s funny. Enjoy.
Jaffe Talks About His Cancelled PSP Game
God of War designer David Jaffe finally spoke on the subject of his shrouded-in-mystery, politically charged PSP game that aimed to be “the most emotional video game ever made” and ultimately saw cancellation.
He told GameHead host and Entertainment Weekly interviewer Geoff Keighley about what the game, once known as Project HL, was meant to address.
Heartland was the story of China invading America. It was a first-person-shooter where you played a soldier debating whether to stay and fight for America or go AWOL to meet up with your family. We were trying to put in a lot of gameplay that would evoke emotion. You had sequences where you’d go into homes and your commanding officer would tell you to shoot innocent Chinese-Americans. It was very dark and was meant to cause players to consider what it’s like to live in America and be an American today.
Jaffe goes on to explain that the personal investment required to finish Heartland had an impact on the decision to shelve the game, calling God of War development “very depressing, very difficult”, and was sad that the game never saw the light of day. Emotional indeed!
Read on for info bits on the planned God of War movie, Jaffe’s casting choice for Kratos and further awesomeness.
The ‘War’ Within [Entertainment Weekly via 1UP]
Xbox “Badges Of Honour” For Charity
Canadian Xbox fans can wear their nerd cred and their charitable nature on their sleeve with these limited edition Xbox buttons, now on sale at Blockbuster locations nation-wide. They’re only two dollars Canadian (like, 3 cents American) and the proceeds go to the Children’s Miracle Network charity. You can’t lose!
Hey Canadian Kotaku readers! How about hooking up some of your fellow nerds to the south? We’ll let you keep the coveted hockey badge.
Xbox Badges Of Honour [Xbox.com]
GDC07: PS3 LocoRoco Coming?
At this week’s Game Developer Conference, Sony dropped some not-so-subtle hints about the future of the LocoRoco franchise. While the PSP version was a very minor hit, Sony remains committed to the series and it should come as no surprise that they’ll continue with more hypercute blobby platforming.
So what’s in store for the next LocoRoco? Don’t be surprised if it turns out to be a PLAYSTATION 3 title. As everyone and their mother noticed, during the PlayStation Home Hall of Fame demonstration, the only game not already confirmed for the PS3 to be represented by a trophy was, of course, LocoRoco.
On top of that, series creator Tsutomu Kouno, after doubly confirming a sequel, said during yesterday’s GDC snoozefest session “I would like to use a new way of playing the game for the next version of LocoRoco.” But after refusing to confirm on what platform it would appear, added “I’m not going to betray your expectations.” Good enough to say “confirmed”? No. Good enough for a Kotaku rumor with a question marked title? You bet.
We’ll put a fiver on LocoRoco HD showing up in the PlayStation Store with SIXAXIS motion control this year. Any takers? (Please note that bets will not be honored.)
GDC 07 Gallery: I Am 8 Bit
The West Hall at the GDC convention center played host this week to a special preview of the I Am 8-Bit show, that features art inspired from classic video games and characters. Some of these you may have seen before, some of them are new, and they are all pretty damn spiffy.
The King Of Games Mario Kart Jersey
In a rare nod to a Super Nintendo era game, t-shirt production house and official Nintendo licensee The King Of Games has announced their next shirt will be based on the SNES classic Super Mario Kart. Titled “Super Mario Kart Grand Champion” the baseball jersey will go on sale March 28th to visitors of the “Nintendo Museum” in the Hankyu department store in Osaka. How’s that for out of reach (goddamn it)?
No word on whether the shirt will be sold online through the site’s English store, but you can be sure I’ll be pestering them until I get an answer. Lots of detail on the shirt print over at The King of Games.
SUPER MARIO KART GRANDCHAMPION! T-shirt [The King Of Games]
The Handy Crackdown Orb Map
Crackdown completists looking for a free, helpful guide to locate all 300 hidden orbs in the game should venture over to Herman Gatevold’s excellent Picasa photo album. You’ll find a handy orb location map and screenshots of every single orb location in the game. Excellent work or invaluable resource? Both!
Crackdown Orbs Picasa Album [via The-InBetween]
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
Bad news, folks. You won’t have me to kick around next week. Tomorrow, I head to sunny Ireland for a week’s worth of heavy vacationing, basking in the glorious sunny weather typical of Dublin in March. Don’t worry. I’m bringing my sunblock. Plus, I’m bringing games!
When not out lounging by the pool at the Four Seasons, pina colada in hand, I’ll be making time with any number of portable games I’ll have on hand. From Mario Vs. Donkey Kong 2 to Brain Age to Trauma Center, I’ll be making sweet gaming music with my Nintendo DS. If I feel like mixing it up, maybe I’ll throw in some Exit for the PSP. Maybe I’ll even remember to bring my copy of Diablo II, dispatching all manner of hellspawn while my body processes gallons of fresh Guinness.
Pity the other Kotaku editors, as they’ll have to pick up the blogging slack in my absence. But enough about us. What have you got planned for the weekend? Hit the comments and let us know.
Details From The PlayStation Home FAQ
So, you have some unanswered questions about exactly how the recently announced PlayStation Home will work? Well, Sony has published a PlayStation Home FAQ which details previously unrevealed features and clarifies unspecified aspects of the service, including more solid dates for the beta and final releases.
The topics run from the mundane to the technical, but also provide some interesting details about the future of Home. For instance, the “current maximum of concurrent users in a lobby is 64″ and Home usernames will be be the same as your PlayStation Network ID. That means when user NeoZeed is in a lobby, you’ll know I’m present.
On the more interesting side of things, it looks like you’ll be able to buy virtual and physical goods from within Home. But not right away. According to the FAQ, “Initially all commercial transaction will be via the PLAYSTATION Network Store. Eventually users will be able to transact within the Home environment.” Interesting.
We’ve pulled some of the more interesting Q&A’s from the PDF and put them after the jump.
Q: What is the timeline for rollout?
Closed Beta (appx. 15,000 users): April - August
Open Beta (appx. 50,000 users): August - October
Service Live (50,000+): October
Q: Will I be able to attend ticketed (paid-for) special events?
Yes, in time Home will play host to many types of event. Bespoke events such as exclusive game previews and developer interviews will be organised by Home and its affiliated content providers. Live events such as sports and concerts may also be broadcast within Home.
Q: Can Home users win non-purchased prizes and items?
Yes, it will be possible to give prizes to users.
Q: Home looks so great - how do publishers ensure that users continue to play their games rather than spending all their time in Home?
There is a huge scope for publishers and developers to promote their current and future IPs - as well as exploiting their back-catalogue. For example, it will be possible to develop small demo-areas within Home that promote new titles, or to re-publish an old IP as mini-game within their Home Space.
Q: Is Home a PS3 specific service? Will users be able to access Home through other devices?
Initially Home will only be accessible via that PLAYSTATION®3, although over time our intention is to enable users to interface certain Home features and services via other networked devices such as PlayStation®Portable (PSP®) and mobile phones.
Q: Can I launch and watch a BD movie from within Home?
Launch, yes. Watch, no.
Q: Will we be able to sell products (other than Home assets) online?
Eventually Home will not only support the merchandising of virtual assets, but also will provide cross-promotional opportunities for selling physical goods online.
Q: Could publishers sell tutorials to their games through Home?
Yes, the commercial services and features that publishers and developers will be able to support is extremely broad.
Q: How large is the download?
We’re aiming for the initial download to be under 500MB. Subsequent downloads will hopefully integrate a streaming method that makes them negligible.
Q: How do users find friends and spaces within Home?
There is an integrated PSN Friends list, and search functionality for spaces.
Q: How many friends can I have?
As many as the PSN friends list allows, which is currently 50.
Q: How often is incremental content being created for Home?
Content for Home will be developed continually. In addition to an ever increasing variety of items to customize avatars and Home Spaces, there will be special events such as Halloween and Christmas where special content will be available for a limited time.
Currently Home is not a persistent world, so when you leave Home, all of your possessions go with you. For instance, it is not currently possible for other users to visit your apartment while you’re not there. We are working on the persistent aspect of Home, and expect to implement it in the long term.
Q: Will there be a restriction to the age you’ll be able to give your avatar?
Yes. We will not have avatars which resemble children. The avatars are adult in appearance.
Good news for those of us who aren’t pedophiles. You can read through the rest of the FAQ at the link below.
PlayStation Home Development Q&A (PDF)
Nintendo Store Hosts Spectrobes Shindig
This Saturday, March 10, Nintendo and Disney will be throwing a party at the Nintendo World Store in New York City to show off the upcoming Nintendo DS game Spectrobes. Unfortunately, we don’t think this party will be on par with the ones held at GDC this week, as it will most likely be booze free, but Kentaro Hisai from developer Jupiter will be on hand. Maybe he’ll buy you some shots.
Anyone interested in possibly netting some swag, getting their hands on the Pokemon-esque DS game and hanging with the Nintendo World Store crew should hit up the party between 11 AM and 4 PM.
