Archive for March, 2007:
PS3 Elite?
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
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
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
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
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.
Second Life Sex Business Sells for $50K
As today’s first case of WTF news comes word that Amsterdam, one of the landmark businesses in Second Life, has been sold on eBay for $50,000 to an anonymous buyer. What is Amsterdam, you say? It’s the red light district in the MMOG, offering virtual sex to anyone who is interested.
Kevin Alderman, who owned Amsterdam, now plans on building a new, much larger sex business in the game with his company Eros LLC. The new business will be open only to adults whereas Amsterdam is open to anyone logged into the game.
Apparently, Amsterdam is one of the most popular sites in Second Life, due to the fact that it is one of the most coherent, cohesive designs in the MMOG, aside from its “titillation” factor of course.”It’s a nice, high-end locale in Second Life,” said Daniel Huebner, director of community affairs at Linden Lab. “It’s not filled with a lot of random content, it’s cohesive and immersive. It was created as a single vision, something that the other content in Second Life occasionally lacks.”
Xbox 360 Elite Announced, Pictures
Microsoft finally confirmed the rumors and announced Xbox 360 Elite, a black, more enhanced version of the console. According to the announcement, Elite will include a 120 GB hard drive, a HDMI port, a high-definition cable, a premium black finish for the console and matching wireless controller and Xbox Live headset. Elite and its matching accessories are expected to begin arriving in retail stores throughout the US on April 29; it will be sold for $479.99.
The 120GB hard drive will also be sold separately for $179.99, as well as black wireless controllers ($49.99), headset, play & charge kit, and rechargeable battery. Photos of the Elite unit, along with its accessories can be found in this Flickr set by Major Nelson.
Additionally, Microsoft also announced that it has gotten several new partners on Xbox Live Marketplace including ADV Films, National Geographic, A&E Network, Totalvid.com, as well as more high-definition content from Paramount and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.
DMC4 Complaints Have “Hit a Cow and Then Exploded”
Following last weeks announcement that Devil May Cry 4 is also being developed for PC and Xbox 360, a very small but vocal segment of Capcom fans felt that the company was spurning the PS3. An internet petition, threatening to boycott the publisher’s product, was started, which at the time of writing, had over 10,000 signatures, most of which are tongue-in-cheek jabs at the more earnest fans.
A complaint thread was also opened on the official Capcom forums, prompting an official response from the company. “We are certainly moved that people are so passionate about our products that they would go to such extremes,” said Christian Svensson, senior strategic planning and research director. “At the same time we feel that allowing more people access to our content pleases far more people than it displeases (after all, we’re not denying DMC4 to anyone that was already going to get it). It really is the best decision for the company and for consumers.”
The thread has since been closed, with him observing that “it seems to have run its course, gone off course, rolled down a cliff, hit a cow and then exploded.” Rightly so.
Guild Wars Expansion, Sequel Announced
NCSoft Europe and ArenaNet have officially announced the Eye of the North expansion for Guild Wars, as well as a full sequel to the free-to-play MMORPG. The expansion, due to hit stores during Q3 2007, will require at least one of the previous Guild Wars campaigns in order to play. It will be set largely in the dungeons and caverns of the lands of Tyria that players first explored in Guild Wars Prophecies. There will be 18 large, multi-level dungeons, 150 new skills across 10 professions, 10 new heroes, 40 new armor sets, and even more items.
Guild Wars 2 will follow its predecessor by not having a subscription fee. It will draw from the game mechanics that made the original Guild Wars so famous, and will add a fully persistent world. No launch date was announced, though the development team hopes that it will go into beta sometime in the second half of 2008.
Take-Two Can’t Decide What To Do
Bad times have hit the Grand Theft Auto publisher. In a previous announcement, Take-Two Interactive had mentioned that it had delayed its annual meeting from March 23 until March 29 to provide additional time to review the proposed actions of a shareholder group and also to evaluate alternative courses of actions that could potentially be presented to the shareholders, including a possible sale of the company. Now, it has disclosed that it will be unlikely to present alternative courses of action prior to their meeting tomorrow; the company is continuing to have discussions with representatives from the shareholder group.
What does this mean for the troubled publisher? It seems that Take-Two wishes to avoid selling itself, though recent events and shareholders’ wishes may bar it from doing so.
VH1: I Love the 80s
VH1 sends word that it is running a “I Love the 80s” giveaway where the grand prize is a Nintendi Wii console with 10,000 Wii points; they will also throw in a Nintendo t-shirt and cap, too.
So, what do you have to do to get the prizes? Tell the site your favorite anecdote about playing old school 80s games and how they shaped your life. They have to be more than one sentence, usually between 40 to 100 words.
The contest ends this Friday, with the winners being announced next Monday. Full details can be found here.
Sony Responds to Elite Announcement
Microsoft will finally be rolling out the announcement for the Elite tomorrow. Which really means they are effectively putting a stop to the mildly good buzz Sony has been receiving for the Euro launch. Sony just can’t get a break; Wii did the launch better two days after the American Sony launch, and now Microsoft will be launching their revised console just shortly thereafter. Apart from the news that Microsoft will finally stop denying the overtly true rumors, Sony has sent out a nice little press statement. Note that this shouldn’t have surfaced until tomorrow, hence ‘today’ actually applies to tomorrow.
“We think every PlayStation 3 owner should have an ‘elite’ experience, which is why we include an internal hard drive and HDMI output in every PS3 we sell, along with the 50 GB of storage capacity on a high definition Blu-ray disc. Sony has been the strongest advocate of high definition as the future of next-generation gaming. This requires high-definition components, including HDMI output, and large storage devices to deliver and store all that rich and vivid HD content. Microsoft’s announcement today not only legitimizes Sony’s PS3 strategy, it moves us closer to adopting universal standards in the area of high definition gaming that will benefit game developers and ultimately the end user.”
Sony, your wit never ceases to amuse!
Read (Joystiq)
Koei unveils UK lineup
IGN UK reports that Koei has released their schedule for their 2007 games in the UK, among which includes some newly revealed titles such as their first Wii game and Prey the Stars on DS. Prey the Stars features a dog that eats things and gets bigger and bigger. Eventually he’ll be at the stage where he is big enough to eat buildings. Think Elebits but instead of a gravity gun you get a building eating dog of destruction. Like always, everything but the PSP has a release coming their way.
- Shin Megami Tensai: Devil Summoner – Raidou Kuzunoha vs The Soulless Army (PS2, April 27)
- G1 Jockey Wii (Wii, June)
- Dynasty Warriors: Fighters Battle DS (DS, Q3)
- Orochi Warriors (PS2 and X360, October)
- Bladestorm: The Hundred Years War (PS3 and X360, Q3)
- Prey The Stars (DS, Q3)
- Fatal Inertia (PS3 and X360, Q3)
Two Microsoft Exclusives Coming
The Microsoft owned proprietary, Channel 10, has said that there will be two brand new exclusives announced for two nights straight starting tomorrow at 9:00PMPST. The occasion for this is for CES kicking off, of course. No word on what they actually will be, but I have a feeling they’re going to be big. Remember guys, Final Fantasy is completely ruled out now. Maybe Snake will be sneaking his way onto the 360? Only time can tell.
Read (Channel 10)
Insomniac Calls Wii a Fad
Brian Hastings, Insomniac Games’ cheif creative officer, said on a “blarb” blog feature on the official website ten reasons why the PS3 will win this console generation. Take in mind that Insomniac Games is an exclusive developer for Sony’s platforms, so don’t be surprised by his comments.
The Wii is currently riding on a massive wave of mainstream attention and has been purchased by lots of people who don’t normally play games. But how many of those people who are hooked on Wii Sports will also buy Wii Need For Speed? Mainstream fads usually run their course within a year. As the honeymoon period fades, the Wii will be going up against more and more graphically impressive games on the PS3 and Xbox 360. More people will be buying HD televisions and looking for the most immersive and stunning experiences available. For these reasons, I think the Wii will be more successful than the GameCube or N64 but in the long run will still be outsold by the PS3.
Those are some strong words. Read his full blog post after the jump.