Archive for August 1st, 2007
Clip: Oblivion’s Dead People Nookie
When Analysts Go Bad: Guitar Hero To Get More Instruments?
Rock Band has people excited. Guitar Hero did have people excited, but not anymore, because they’re all excited about Rock Band. Analyst group Janco are aware of this, and are on-hand to offer a daring prediction: that Guitar Hero will be seeing more instruments next year.
…we expect Guitar Hero to follow a natural product evolution by adding additional music peripherals in CY08.
Could the market support two rock games based on a series of overpriced peripherals? Since we’re not sure whether it can even support one, I’m going to offer my own prediction and say no. No it can’t. Besides, what would you call the thing? Guitar Hero & Friends? No.
Teh Future: New Computer Chip Based on PS3 Cell
A prototype chip based on the PS3 Cell processor has been developed and will be shown next week in San Diego. The prototype is for computer boards (not the PS3), and it shouldn’t come as a surprise as applications for the Cell have been mentioned for some time now. The original chip was developed by Sony, Sony Computer Entertainment, IBM and Toshiba. Called the “Cell Computing Board,” this new prototype is the Cell Broadband Engine microprocessor married with the RSX graphics processor, which, according to Sony, goes beyond the Cell chip’s power. That’s right, a super computer. Fingers crossed for 4D output!
New Cell Prototype [PC Advisor]
Clips: Strolling Further Along Metroid’s Memory Lane
Much like the previous one, this. I’m not sure whether I like the more protracted analysis of each game (the Zelda ones were pretty brief). On the one hand, it’s nice they can go into more detail but…I got a little sleepy by the time they’d hit Fusion.
Gonna Get Chu: Nintendo Helping Gov’t Piracy Raids
Don’t let the brain games and red overalls foot you. Nintendo is not pussy-footing around when it comes to copyright circumvention. Today, American federal agents carried out 32 search warrants in 16 states for the sale and distribution of mod chips. For example, mod chips can allow users to play counterfeit Wii software. This is the largest government action against video game piracy, and Nintendo has worked closely with the Department of Homeland Security and completely supports its actions. Jodi Daugherty, Nintendo of America’s senior director of anti-piracy, says:
Nintendo and its developers and publishers lost an estimated $762 million in sales in 2006 due to piracy of its products. Nintendo’s anti-piracy team works closely with law enforcement officials worldwide to seize mod chips and counterfeit software. Since April, Nintendo has seized more than 91,000 counterfeit Wii discs globally.
But shouldn’t Nintendo be responsible for making consoles that can’t be modded?
I’m Sad: How Hard Boiled on Stranglehold Doesn’t Screw Hollywood
Newsweek’s gaming news ranger N’Gai Croal pinged Midway about its upcoming Stranglehold. The non-region free (bastards!) PS3 Special Edition version contains a copy of John Woo’s classic Hard Boiled packed on the same Blu-ray disc. That’s actually a somewhat revolutionary idea: packing games and movies on the same disc for only ten dollars more than the Blu-ray movie. Midway’s Steve Allison, who pitched the original game-movie pairing pack, explains how Midway structured the deal:
The Weinsteins and Genius Products, their home video partner, are very forward thinking on this issue, I have to say. We approached them not knowing their plans for their own re-release of “Hard Boiled” at the end of July. To protect them against worries of cannibalizing their release we did two things:
1. We contractually limited the total number of units we would produce to a set number. I can’t tell you the number beyond the fact that it’s a six-figure quantity, and this works to make the Special Edition a real collector’s item–hopefully a part of videogame history in that it’s the first ever SKU to have a game and film on the same disc.
2. The film can only play/launch on a Sony Playstation 3 game system, not from a dedicated Blu-Ray player. This means a videophile can’t buy this for their Blu-Ray player; it’s going to be a gamer who is passionate about this SKU.We used the master digital tape from the film print and then ourselves converted it to support all HD resolutions, including 1080p. It’s really the storage capacity of Blu-Ray that makes this pairing possible, and it’s still a compelling product.
As mentioned above, they also made this bundle region protected. Bad news for folks who live outside the States! Yes, I understand that they did this due to the movie’s territorial rights, but that still does nothing to muffle the giant sucking sound.
Adding Hard Boiled to Stranglehold [Level Up]
Snuggly Wuggly: GameTap Gets Snuggly With Codemasters
Industry veterans Codemasters have just signed a big digital distribution deal with GameTap. As part of said deal, Codemasters recent 2007 titles (DiRT & Overlord) will be available over the service, as will their upcoming games like Jericho and Nazi zeppelin extravaganza Turning Point: Fall of Liberty. The press release says these games will be available “in both the subscription service and on the ad-supported website on an exclusive basis”, but we’re checking with GameTap on just what that actually means. It looks like they’re saying games like Turning Point will be on the ad-supported part of GameTap. Which is free. But they can’t mean that. Surely. Keep your knickers untwisted til we find out.
GAMETAP SIGNS EXCLUSIVE DEAL WITH CODEMASTERS
All new titles to be available day and date only on GameTap
ATLANTA - August 1, 2007 - GameTap, the first-of-its-kind broadband entertainment network from Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.), announced today an expanded partnership with Codemasters that now includes multi-year exclusive North American rights for their new titles to be featured in GameTap’s subscription service, as well as for purchase online, both day and date with retail release.
“Codemasters is a forward thinking company with great current and upcoming titles that are exactly the kind of games our subscribers want to play,” said Stuart Snyder, Turner’s executive vice president and chief operating officer of Animation, Young Adults & Kids Media. “Making games available to play day and date with the retail release to our subscribers is a top priority for our business.”
As part of this expansive deal, GameTap will feature Codemasters’ recently released 2007 games including the critically acclaimed DiRT™ and Overlord™ as well as a selection of upcoming titles including Clive Barker’s Jericho™ and Turning Point™: Fall of Liberty, in both the subscription service and on the ad-supported website on an exclusive basis. Codemasters’ games will also be sold in GameTap’s new online digital retail storefront.
“As Codemasters further expands in North America, GameTap was an obvious choice in delivering our award-winning content to a new audience,” said Geoff Mulligan, president of publishing, Codemasters Inc. “We have secured retail success and this new partnership with GameTap is the next step to expanding our business through subscription play and ad revenue.”
Launched on May 31st, GameTap.com, is an ad-supported website that features free games and original programming content from GameTap TV, and an online store that offers the best PC and catalog titles for purchase and digital download. With this new deal, virtually the entire Codemasters catalog will now be available to GameTap Gold Level members for unlimited subscription play well into the next decade.
Sadly, Games Involved: Man Charged With Murder Of 4-Month-Old Child
Tragic one, this. A Chicago man has had his bail set at $750,000 after being arrested and charged with the first-degree murder of his girlfriend’s 4-month-old baby, Kiyarah Taylor. It’s accused that Lemuel Lucas, 21, was looking after his girlfriend’s baby when he “became irate after playing a video game and dropped Kiyarah on her head”, and subsequently “picked her up and shook her violently”. When the child would not respond after this shaking, it’s alleged Lucas stuffed chewing gum down her throat to make it appear she had choked. The child passed away in hospital three days after the alleged attack, having sustained severe brain injuries and multiple bone fractures, which are injuries consistent with having been violently shaken. Lucas had already been charged with aggravated assault over the death; prosecutors have since upped the charges.
$750,000 bail set in girl’s death [Chicago Tribune]
Debt Expansion: BlizzCon Goody Bags & Fine Purchaseables Revealed
We’re well aware that BlizzCon 2007 attendees will secure themselves a World of Warcraft Murloc suit and score a coveted beta key to an as yet unidentified Blizzard product, but what else will they see stuffed in their goody bags? The official BlizzCon site reveals all! In addition to the two previous prizes and the expected BlizzCon souvenir show guide, conventioneers will score a StarCraft II magnet, a WoW t-shirt, a Heroes of Azeroth starter deck, coasters, buttons and… other surprises.
That’s good news, sure, but those of us with cold cash ironically burning a hole in our wallets of holding want to know “What kind of licensed crap can I spend hundreds of dollars on?” Blizzard has the answer, highlighting some of the dozens of things one can buy at the Anaheim convention center. Posters, soundtracks, t-shirts, keychains, belt buckles, calendars—there’s practically no limit to the amount of unnecessary stuff one can buy.
So bring plenty of cash and plenty of storage space. In fact, book a suite if it’s not too late.
BlizzCon Goody Bag and BlizzCon Store [Blizzard]
What Were The Odds?: EA Blames Slow Growth On PS3
EA made a ton of money this quarter. Nothing new! Thing is they didn’t make quite as much as they wanted to. And that’s including the Potter boy’s sales exploits. So who’s to blame? Why the PlayStation 3, of course. EA boss John Riccitiello has said that while the company was all over the PS2, the lack of sales on the PS3 is hurting:
Point blank, this cycle is developing quite differently than the last cycle. The next-gen hardware build is going a little more slowly.This time, there’s been some unexpected strength with the Wii and the PS3 hasn’t–yet–performed as well as we expected it to. That probably has a bigger impact than any other factor on our margins.
In other words, the cashed-up rich guy went to the races, bet the farm on the PS3, and some loose change on the Wii. And lost a lotta cash. This is why you should never, ever bet on horses. Or game consoles. But especially horses.
Lagging PS3 Sales Hurt EA’s Margins [Next-Gen]
Day Note: Mixed Emotions
To: Ash
From: Crecente
Re: Cameron Diaz Is Mannish
My niece’s killer was sentenced today. The coward opted not to go to trial and instead admitted to killing Jennifer. He also had to turn in a buddy who was involved in the shooting. In exchange he received 35 years in a Texas prison, 35 years that I can only hope will feel like the lifetime he cut short.
It was strange not being there, but I think it was better for me. My brother (Jennifer’s dad) and my mom and Jennifer’s mom all appeared in court to finally get a chance to talk about what Jennifer’s death did to them and our family. It’s been nearly a year and a half and we’ve only put one of the two people responsible in prison. It’s strange to see justice meted out from this side of the chalk line.
What you missed:
Black Looks on RE 5 Racism
HD DVD Price Drop
Xbox Abuse Led to to Fatal Fire
Bizarre Talks Disc Space and PGR4
Massive Mod Chip Raid
Lets Get Harry: Gamers Still Love Buying Harry Potter Shovelware
EA’s financial results for the quarter, released today, wasn’t cluttered with great news for the company—more on that later tonight—but one bright spot was the still white hot license for Harry Potter. The latest game adaptation of the film adaptation of the book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix sold a magical 2 million copies during the first week of its release. Impressive even when you consider that it was released on 8 separate platforms.
Given that, one might expect that EA would bemoan the final chapter in the book series hitting recently and expect that Harry Potter and the Kart Race of Illuminance will fill the gap in the publisher’s 2010 line-up.
Harry Potter Soars; EA’s Q1 Revenues Do Not [GameDaily BIZ]
Fairies, Not Furries: Tingle RPG Prances To Europe September 13th
If you don’t have faith in Nintendo of America’s ability to satisfy Western demand for traditional role-playing games starring effete middle-aged men in gut-hugging unitards, then you’ll want to put your pre-order in for the Euro version of Freshly Picked: Tingle’s Rosy Rupeeland now.
NCSX is currently soliciting the Nintendo DS game for $49.90 American. Obviously, this includes an English language option for easy American-style reading. In fact, it includes multiple language options, as European releases are wont to do. The game ships to our across the pond pals on September 13th, so don’t sleep on this one.
Freshly Picked: Tingle’s Rosey Rupeeland - Preorder [NCSX]
Rumor: More PS3 SIXAXIS Rumors Rumblin’
The site where “game developers speak out” Inner Bits has posted a handful of new SIXAXIS based news chunks, writing that “prototypes of the new rumble-enabled controllers have made their way to various Sony developers.” Inner Bits expects that the new vibrating controllers will probably be announced within the next two or three months—on or around the dates of Games Convention and Tokyo Game Show—once developers have more hands-on time with the device.
Furthermore, it appears that the original rumble-free SIXAXIS is also getting some updates. Addressing controller sensitivity issues, Inner Bits reports that Sony has been “quietly replacing the original controllers” with better tuned hardware.
Ah, the curse of early adoption. At least we OG PLAYSTATION 3 owners have our Emotion Engines to cuddle up with late at night.
PS3 Controller News and Rumors [Inner Bits]
The Developer’s Studio: ICO Creator Weighs In On God of War II
Shadow of the Colossus and ICO creator Fumito Ueda was recently interviewed by Famitsu on the topic of, oddly enough, God of War II. The game director discusses in great detail his impressions on the PlayStation 2 game from SCEA and the differences between Western and Japanese game development. There are some fascinating insights into the different philosophies on development from cost and design perspectives.
Unfortunately, some of Ueda’s comments are rather vague—his comments about the recycling of game assets and code, for example—possibly with some of the finer details lost in translation, but it’s still a good read.
This—video game developers discussing their own work in the terms of their peers—is something I’d definitely like to see more of. You can read the translated interview with Ueda at God of War II director Cory Barlog’s blog.
Ico of War! [Don't Play Games With Me!]
Screen Update: Hellboy
Get ready for the fury of hell with these new screens.
Screen Update: Clive Barker’s Jericho
Get your hands bloody with these new screens!
Screen Update: Silent Hill Origins
These new screens will leave you speechless!
Screen Update: Hellboy
Get ready for the fury of hell with these new screens.
News: Grand Theft Auto IV delayed until spring 2008
Take-Two announced on Thursday that GTA4 for PS3 and Xbox 360 would be delayed until April 2008 at the earliest due to requiring additional development time. As a result, company shares (not to mention gamer hopes) dropped 13 percent on the news.
