Kingdom Hearts III Trailer
March 31, 2007
This is actually a secret ending for Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix, but it definitely looks like an actual trailer for the third installment of the series. You never know…
Mayor Bloomberg not Happy with GTA IV
March 31, 2007
Politicians over at New York City are not too pleased with the latest Grand Theft Auto IV trailer which was debuted not too long ago. The trailer revealed to fans that the title would be held in New York City. The representatives of Mayor Bloomberg, as well as the cops, are saying that the setting of the game is farfetched since the city is the safest in America.
“It’s despicable to glamorize violence in games like these, regardless of how far-fetched the setting may be,”
The entertainment industry has conceived NYC as one of the most crime filled cities in America. If the mayor isn’t saying anything about Spiderman, why should he be given a right to say anything about the game? First it’s from Thompson, and now it’s from the politicians. And we already know we’ll be hearing from the parents, the retailers, and the ignorant. Take Two needs a break.
In previous incarnations, players advanced through the game by killing cops, selling pornography to children and killing prostitutes.
Selling pornography to children? I’m going to go load up my old GTA games and see what the heck that is all about.
Read (NYDailyNews)
More Games to use Lego
March 31, 2007
The makers of the popular Lego Star Wars series and upcoming Lego Batman, are anticipating stretching the franchise as far as it can go in the future. Jonathan Smith who is the head of production has hinted to GameIndustry.biz where they are heading next. “We have genuinely exciting plans for future Lego titles,” says Jonathan Smith, which could one of many exciting opportunities. I’d love to see some sort of nautical or pirate themed game for their next big license. But for the moment, they are setting their sights high for Batman; “We’ve been delighted with the positive response we’ve had from so many people about Lego Star Wars. We’re working hard to ensure that Lego Batman exceeds expectations once again, to achieve similar success.”
NiGHTS Wii Scans
March 30, 2007
This is what we’ve all been waiting for; scans for the upcoming Wii NiGHTS game from Sega. The magazine is completely in Portugese, so most of our readers won’t be able to figure what is going on, but there are lots of in game shots, and pictures do say a thousand words. View the scans by clicking the thumbnails below.
Update: Added a fourth page and translated interview with Takeshi Iizuka from a NeoGAF post. View after the jump. Read more
New Halo 2 Maps Revealed
March 30, 2007
Bungie has unveiled two new Halo 2 maps, Tombstone and Desolation. The creators say it’s a “thank you” to all of their dedicated fans. They are to be released on April 17th, $4 for both of them. In order to buy them with Microsoft Points, you have to have Xbox Live Gold account, since the backwards compatibility mode cannot detect the difference between silver and gold. You can always use a credit card to buy them on the 360, though. Press release after the jump. Read more
Ships Get Wii
March 30, 2007
Proving that their platform does appeal to everyone, Nintendo sent word that the Norwegian Cruise Line is the first cruise line to offers it guests a chance to experience the Wii on board its ships. Wii consoles are currently on NCL’s newest ship - Norwegian Pearl - and all NCL America ships; rest of the fleet will be covered by next month. These systems have been equipped with Wii Sports, Wii Play, Warioware: Smooth Moves and Excite Truck.
The Wii setup will be located in the atrium and other public rooms, allowing guests to gather and play against each other on large video screens. Each ships’ Kid’s Crew facility will also feature two Wii kiosks providing kids-only fun. The ships will also host tournaments and other activities based around the games.
Sonic Spinball and More on Virtual Console
March 30, 2007
Sega has released three titles from its Genesis library for Nintendo Wii’s Virtual Console service. They are Sword of Vermillion, Sonic Spinball and Beyond Oasis. These games can be purchased for 800 Wii points each.
Sword of Vermilion - When the evil wizard-king, Tsarkon, invaded Excalabria, King Erik V had no choice but to turn his infant son over to his most trusted warrior, Blade. As his castle burned, King Erik hurriedly gave Blade an ancient family heirloom, the Ring of Wisdom, and asked him to leave at once in the hopes that the young heir to the throne would survive. Blade raised Erik VI as his own, knowing one day the prince would fulfill the prophecy of the Malaga fortune tellers. Now, eighteen years later, Erik VI returns to Excalabria to avenge his father’s death and reclaim the kingdom.Sonic Spinball - With his Veg-O-Fortress built high up on an active volcano, Dr. Eggman is turning all the cute, furry creatures of Planet Mobius into robot slaves! Sonic and Tails rush to save the animals and quickly discover the only way to stop the mechanizing madness is to trigger a volcanic eruption. Sonic knows this can be done by removing the Chaos Emeralds that keep the volcano stable. However, Dr. Eggman is also aware of the fragile relationship that exists between the Emeralds and the mountain, and he’s set up an elaborate Pinball Defense System to make sure the precious jewels don’t go anywhere.
Beyond Oasis - You are the young Prince Ali in a desperate fight to defeat the evil that has returned to threaten your island empire, Oasis. Long ago, a war raged between a wicked sorcerer who used a silver “armlet” to unleash destruction on the island and a wizard who defied him with a gold armlet that could summon four powerful spirits. Both armlets had been lost until recently when someone unearthed the silver band and began using it for their evil gain. Just when you think all is lost, you discover the precious gold armlet and finally have the power to combat the wearer of the silver band…but can you stop them in time?
Bullet Witch DLC Hits Xbox Live
March 30, 2007
It’s surprising that Atari is supporting a critically-maligned game such as Bullet Witch with downloadable content… and lots of it, too.
The first set of new content, which includes a free brand new White Witch costume and a Bullet Witch Xbox 360 theme pack, is now available. Additionally, for 20 points each, gamers can download one new mission “Dynamite Beauty” and two enhanced versions of the “Clad in Streaming Black” mission featuring ‘Great Spells’ unlocked and a heightened difficulty level.
Gamers can also look forward to seeing more free costumes over the coming weeks - Mummy, Schoolgirl, Secretary and Pixie. New missions ‘Caterpillar City’, ‘Endless’, ‘One Shot Kill’ and ‘Geist Search and Destroy’, and enhanced editions of missions ‘City of Screams’, ‘Up in Flames at 10,000ft’, ‘Down in the Valley’, ‘The Bound Soul’ and ‘The End of Chaos’, will be available for 20 points each.
Nintendo “Flagships” E For All
March 30, 2007
Nintendo has announced that it will be the headlining company for the Entertainment for All Expo (E for All), scheduled for October 18-21, 2007, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The convention which was announced several months ago is being run by some of the people responsible for E3, and was having troubles gaining legitamacy until Sony and Nintendo both hopped on the bandwagon. The expo isn’t so much a media event as it is a public event featuring playable demos. Since Nintendo is leading the way it goes without saying that some sort of announcement will follow suite.
Read (Nintendo)
FEAR Gripping PS3 Next Month
March 30, 2007
Though it was intended to be a Euro PS3 launch title, Sierra had delayed F.E.A.R. for the console to make it more optimized for the console. The company has announced that the game will hit stores on April 24 in North America.
A PS3 port of the critically praised horror-FPS, F.E.A.R. will feature multiplayer support for up to 16 players via the PlayStation Network; an Instant Action mode - a new arcade style mode where player progress can be tracked via leader boards; and an exclusive level and weapon for the console.
F.E.A.R. is also available on PC and Xbox 360.
Elite Freebies
March 29, 2007
Everyone likes free things. Sometimes it is arguable when something is free, or you are just paying a high price point and they use “free” things to justify the purchase. Either way, the 360 Elite feature a bigger Hard Drive and a whole lot more freebies thrown into the bunch. For those new to the Xbox scene, the amount of content packs a punch, while those merely updating consoles may not be as impressed. Make the jump to see the free content!
Japan’s Hardware & Software Sales 3/19 - 3/25
March 29, 2007
22 or 73% is the number of titles in the top 30 list that are on the Nintendo DS. If anyone is questioning Square’s decision to put Dragon Quest on the DS, take a gander at how the systems are stacking up in Japan and it’s not quite a mystery.
1. NDS - 130,684
2. WII - 75,571
3. PSP - 41,546
4. PS3 - 20,459
5. PS2 - 16,961
6. 360 - 3,492
7. GBA - 1,394
8. NGC - 270
01. Musou Orochi (PS2) - 406,247 / New
02. Yoshi’s Island DS (DS) - 100,812 / 535,770
03. Dragon Ball Z: Harukanaru Goku Legend (DS) - 65,203 / New
04. Word Puzzle Mojipittan DS (DS) - 64,005 / 135,706
05. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd (PSP) - 51,952 / 1,052,550
06. Wii Sports (Wii) - 46,362 / 1,250,596
07. Crayon Shin-Chan DS: Arashi wo Yobu Nutte Crayoon Daisakusen! (DS) - 38,413 / New
08. Professor Layton and the Mysterious Village (DS) - 37,912 / 335,300
09. Wii Play (Wii) - 37,289 / 1,070,334
10. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) - 25,184 / 4,257,646
GTA IV Trailer
March 29, 2007
The new GTA IV trailer has just gone live. You can find a HD version right here and the Gametrailer version. Both were plauged earlier today when the trailer went live, but a version has already made its way to YouTube so hopefully something is still working for you! GTA has never looked so good.
Resident Evil on Wii
March 29, 2007
Depending on who you ask, Resident Evil four was the shining achievement from the Gamecube, and easily the best mature rated title to debut on the system. It was, for similar reasons, also one of the best looking titles on the system as well. Resident Evil games are notoriously good looking, so we’ll take whatever scraps of information we can get.
IGN has confirmed that Resident Evil on the Wii will be both 16:9 and support 480p. Neither of which is truly shocking, but for the moment we at least can hope Capcom won’t completely adopt Nintendo’s mantra, and dumbing down the visuals. If RE4 on the cube was any indication, imagine how RE4 could look on the Wii? I’d wager twice as good considering it is just two gamecubes duct taped together after all!
BioShock Petition for Collector’s Edition: Success!
March 29, 2007
Fans of the Xbox 360 RPG BioShock have created an online petiton asking for a collector’s edition of the game. 2K Games said that if the petition reaches over 5,000 signatures, they will agree to the terms and release one. But now, the signature total is over 15,000 and counting. That would mean that you’ll be seeing a collector’s edition pretty soon.
Read (Tavdogg)
PS3 Elite?
March 29, 2007
Sony has made some filing with the Federal Communications Commission for what it seems like as an 80GB PS3. It is unknown if this model is just an upgrade or if it’s a completely new SKU. The company responded with the following.
As mentioned when we made the product announcement for PS3, the system will have different configurations (thus, 60GB HDD with memory card slots and Wi-Fi and 20GB HDD without memory card slots or Wi-Fi both exists). Application to the FCC has been made with various possibilities in mind, however, it does not lead to a new product announcement at this time.
They’re probably just stalling this time, since they have not prepared everything just yet. It would totally be understandable, seeing as how the Xbox 360 Elite is just around the corner, and Kutaragi has been pushing for a 250GB version of the PS3.
Read (Kotaku)
Microsoft: Wii is for Kids
March 28, 2007
In a New York Times article, John Rodman, Xbox group product manager, said the following concerning the demographic of the Wii.
“We don’t feel like the Wii customer and the Xbox customer are the same thing,” he said. “We think that as soon as the Wii customer turns 14 they want something else.”
This sounds like something I read off of a fanboy forum.
120GB 360 Problems
March 28, 2007
Here is some information via a Japanese press release regarding the Xbox 360 120GB hard disk drive to be released with the Elite. It turns out you can’t do a lot of things with it, and there are quite a few setbacks.
- You can only move data from the 20GB Hard Disk to the 120 GB Hard Disk. Transferring data in the other direction, or any other combination, is not possible.
- Any data stored on the 120 GB hard disk will be automatically deleted.
- Any data stored on the 20 GB hard disk will be automatically deleted after it is moved over.
- You cannot put the data from two or more 20 GB hard disks onto one 120 GB hard disk. If you attempt to move multiple drives, only the last one you move will be stored.
- Once you move the data over, it cannot be placed back on the original hard disk.
Microsoft had originally advised 360 owners to buy two 20GB hard drives to fit all of the available content. It turns out that you can’t put data from both drives into the new 120GB, so this pretty much means a lot of angry gamers.
Read (WIRED)
Mario & Sonic at the Beijing Olympics Game 2008
March 28, 2007
Two of the greatest video game icons are finally coming together in the same game; Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. Nintendo and Sega have teamed up to create a game where both franchises battle each other in sporting events such as the 100 meter track, tabble tennis, swimming, and more. Playable characters include Mario, Sonic, Luigi, Knuckles, Yoshi, Tails and more. I guess this makes the possibility for Sonic in Brawl sky rocket. More importantly, why does Mario come first in the title in a Sega developed game? It will be released on both the Wii and Nintendo DS. Press release after the jump.
Hitman, Castlevania Movie News
March 28, 2007
Dark Horizons reports that several actors have joined the Hitman cast, including Robert Knepper (Prison Break) and Michael Offei (Casino Royale). The report also lists Timothy Olyphant as playing Agent 47, and Dougray Scott as playing the villain. The movie will start shooting this week in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, with locations in South Africa, London and Istanbul also being used.
In other game-movie news, Paul W.S. Anderson is being reported to have abandoned the Castlevania project. He was previously attached to it as director and writer, though the project has been in development hell since its inception. Anderson is now working on a potential Death Race remake/sequel.
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