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More Companies Interested In Buying Take Two

After EA’s surprise move to acquire rival Take Two, and Take Two’s clean dismissal, new information has been revealed by T2. Since EA is determined for a hostile takeover, Take Two revealed in a recent SEC filing that the company has been approached by several other potential buyers, but that the company is not in talks with any company.

Jason Ocampo Joining IGN

Recently we reported that GameSpot lost long time editor Jason Ocampo, rumored to be because of the notorious Gertsmann firing. IGN has now revealed that Ocampo has joined their staff, as PC Editor-in-chief. Ocampo may not have left GameSpot directly because of the Gertsmann affair, but it’s obvious that a high-ranking and well known games journalist like him was getting his image and name devalued by staying at GameSpot.

Call Of Duty 4 Patch Coming This Weekend

Infinity ward has announced that the upcoming Call of Duty patch is scheduled for arrival this weekend on the Xbox 360 and PS3. The patch is currently at Microsoft (and Sony) for certification, and includes the usual updates and tweaks, but will also include a yet-to-be-revealed secret map. Call of Duty 4 has been the top played game on Xbox Live for 4 straight weeks now, beating Halo 3 every week.

X-Blades Announced

SouthPeak Games has announced X-Blades, a third-person hack-and-slash action title for PC and next-gen consoles. Set for release later this year, the game has players controlling an anime-styled heroine who battles through a host of locations using guns, blades and magic.

“The unique anime-style backdrop combined with high-octane, multi-discipline combat gameplay really pushes X-Blades into brand new territory,” said Melanie Mroz, CEO of SouthPeak Games. “The 3rd-person ‘hack-em-up’ genre needs a fresh perspective and X-Blades is poised to deliver it.”

Players assume the role of Ayumi, a heroine who battles enemies with the aforementioned weapons. It is not exactly known why she must fight, but their press release speaks of “demonic hordes” and “frenetic supernatural battling,” so it should be fun.

Metal Gear Online Beta Starts April 21

Publisher Konami has announced that the beta for Metal Gear Online will begin on April 21. A 16-person multiplayer component of Metal Gear Solid 4, players will receive access to the MGO beta by preordering MGS 4 from major retailers. The pre-order program will start in April, with consumers receiving a limited edition DVD that contains a download code for the beta.

It is expected that the beta will run for about two weeks and may also be open to those who didn’t pre-order, according to a post by Konami PR director on the Official PlayStation blog.

Velvet Assassin Strikes Down Sabotage

Developer Replay Studios, along with publisher Gamecock, today announced that their stealth-action title formerly known as Sabotage has been renamed to Velvet Assassin. The new title portrays the story of real-life hero Violette Szabo and the clandestine act of sabotage she championed.”Rather than a trite, overused, and generic working title like ‘Sabotage,’ ‘Velvet Assassin’ captures the heart of what we’re trying to accomplish,” said Sascha Jungnickel, Creative Director at Replay Studios. “From the start we’ve wanted a game with a strong female lead that stays true to the history of Violette Szabo while pulling players into a world of dark intrigue.”

Velvent Assassin is due out this Fall on PC and next-gen consoles, though exact platforms weren’t mentioned.

Blu-ray Not Big Enough for Metal Gear Solid 4

It has been revealed that even the Blu-ray disc isn’t big enough for the awesomeness that is Metal Gear Solid 4. Speaking in Kojima Production’s podcast, producer Ryan Penton stated that the highly anticipated game will not include voice overs in other languages, meaning that the Japanese version will not have English voice overs and vice versa.

“Unfortunately because of disc space, we don’t have the space to include other languages, other voice over files for the respective versions,” he siad. “So the Japanese version’s not gonna have English VO, and the North American and European versions won’t have Japanese VO.”

No worries, though, since the PS3 does not have any regional protection, letting you import a Japanese copy if you were so inclined on listening to the characters speak gibberish.

House of the Dead Wii to Have Exclusive “Extreme” Mode

The upcoming Wii version of House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return will feature a new game mode, as revealed by Sega today. Beating the games will unlock an Extreme mode, a special single-player mode in House of the Dead 3 with a number of gameplay changes.

Enemies will attack much quicker, making the action much more frantic; the bullet blast radius will also be much smaller. However, to make up for it, players will have faster reloading of the shotgun as well as a new melee attack. When the enemy is within melee range, the “A” button can be pressed to unleash a powerful attack that can hit several enemies. It can also be used to block enemy attacks, missile weapons and even boss attacks. It requires the player to reload, though.

The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return will be released for the WIi this March.

GTA 4 to Take 100 Hours to Complete

Videogamer.com carries word that Grand Theft Auto IV will take around 100 hours to complete. It is said to be confirmed by Rockstar, too.

“If you’re not in a rush and you answer the phone when it rings it’ll take about 100 hours to complete”, reads the article. “It’s harder to distinguish between main and side missions - there are loads of both. But there are more main missions than side missions. It’s not as clear cut as it used to be because of the phone.”

Also, according to the site, the game will not have any “Hot Coffee” code in the game, but will let players take women out on dates. If the dates can be impressed well enough, they can be taken back to Niko’s (or her’s) place and do the birds-and-bees-thing off camera.

SCi Cancels 14 Projects, Lays Off 25% Staff

SCi, the parent company of Eidos Interactive, has announced a major restructuring plan that will see a total of 14 projects being canned and almost one-fourth of its workforce laid off.

“Following our business review over the last six weeks, we are initiating a clear action plan based on three fundamental strands of activity: a radical change in our structure to a studio-led business, a top to bottom programme of product improvement and efficiency and a considerable cost reduction plan,” said Phil Rogers, SCi CEO. “We must allow the world-class people that we have within the Group to focus on strong, profitable titles which will create the value our shareholders deserve.”

The company admitted that the quality of its recent titles had fallen below their high standards, citing “disappointing game development and working within an ineffective operating structure” as the main reason.

It wasn’t mentioned which games were cancelled, though one can easily understand that Lara Croft won’t be getting the axe anytime soon.

Big SingStar Update in March

Karaoke fans rejoice for the SingStar store is getting its first major update on March 7, according to this post on the Three Speech blog. Last month saw a similar update with 18 tracks, but this month features a whopping 67 songs.

Unfortunately, many of these songs are said to be from previous PS2 iterations of SingStar. Maybe Sony is trying to play it safe and appeal to fans of previous games, but they really need more songs in the store if they want to keep it up. Below is the full list of songs to be included in the update.

* Aha: The Sun Always Shines On TV
* Alice Cooper: Poison
* Big Brovaz: Nu-Flow
* Bill Joel: Uptown Girl
* Blu Cantrell: Hit ‘Em Up Style (Oops!)
* Blur: End of a Century
* Britney Spears: Baby One More Time
* Coldplay: Speed Of Sound
* Crash Test Dummies: Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm
* David Bowie: Heroes
* Dragon: April Sun In Cuba
* Elvira Nickolaisen: Egypt Song
* End Of Fashion: Oh Yeah
* Fairground Attraction: Perfect
* Feeder: Buck Rogers
* Five: Keep On Movin’
* Jamelia:Superstar
* Jamelia: Stop
* Joy Division: Love Will Tear Us Apart
* Lemar: It’s Not That Easy
* Lordi: Hard Rock Hallelujah
* Maria Mena: My Lullaby
* Maxïmo Park: Graffiti
* Maxïmo Park: Going Missing
* Natalie Imbruglia: Torn
* opus X: loving you girl
* Paddy Casey: Saints and Sinners
* Paddy Casey: Whatever Gets You True
* Reamonn: Supergirl
* Roachford: Only To Be With You
* Rooster: Come Get Some
* Roxy Music: Love Is The Drug
* Shannon Noll: What About Me
* Spice Girls: Wannabe
* Spice Girls: Who Do You Think You Are?
* Steps: Deeper Shade of Blue
* Stereophonics: Dakota
* Stereophonics: The Bartender And The Thief
* The Darkness: I Believe In A Thing Called Love
* The Hoosiers: Goodbye Mr A
* The Screaming Jets: Better
* The Thrills: One Horse Town
* The Thrills: Santa Cruz (You’re Not That Far)
* The Undertones: Teenage Kicks
* Trio Rio: New York, Rio, Tokyo
* Whitney Houston: I Want To Dance With Somebody
* Clueso: Kein Bock Zu Geh’n
* Die Fantastischen Vier: Geboren
* Laith Al-Deen: Leb Den Tag
* Laith Al-Deen: Bilder von Dir
* MIA.: Tanz Der Moleküle
* Pur: Abenteuerland
* Revolverheld: Ich werd’ die Welt verändern
* Revolverheld: Mit Dir Chilln
* Alexia: Egoista
* Alexia: Da Grande
* Daniele Silvestri: Salirò
* Fiorello: Viviere A Color
* Litfiba: El Diablo
* Loredana Berte: Il Mare D’Inverno
* Luca Di Risio: Calma e sanguefreddo
* Paola & Chiara: Blu
* Jan Eggum: På’an igjen
* Kaptein Sabeltann: Vi seiler vår egen sjø
* Philip and Sandra: Sommerflørt
* Gloria Estefan: Hoy
* Pereza: Pienso En Aquella Tarde

Activision: Take-Two Not Worth It

Take-Two Interactive, home to the GTA franchise as well as other big names, was recently in the news thanks to EA’s bid for acquiring it. EA wasn’t the only one interested in the company, however, as Activision CEO revealed that they had also thought of acquiring the publisher, explaining why it didn’t happen.

“We’ve said that we need a history of profitability, good management, the proprietary technology for a franchise, history of multimillion unit sellers. They would have to be non-dilutive and operating margin accretive,” said Bobby Kotick, Activision chairman. “And, for us, Take-Two didn’t fulfill those requirements. Maybe it does over the long-term for EA, but it doesn’t for us.”

He’s not criticizing EA for taking a shot at Take-Two, as according to him, EA has unique insight into the business and has a “good sense of what its prospects are for the future,” according to Kotick.

Take-Two has had management issues over the past few years. The publisher may be home to many big titles like BioShock and Civilization IV, it’s major bread earner is the GTA franchise.

Sims Have Free Time, You Don’t

Continuing to milk the cash cow and annoying gamers even further, EA has announced that The Sims 2: Free Time expansion pack has shipped across North America and Europe. It offers a wide range of new activities, hobbies and careers for the Sims. New life pursuits based on Sims’ interests are also available; all fields in the game, including sports, music, arts, science and film have all been updated with new stuff.

“The Sims 2 FreeTime empowers your Sims with the tools to explore hobbies that are entertaining and that go beyond the every day,” said Rod Humble, Head of The Sims Studio. “Now your Sims have the freedom to discover talents that add stimulating career options, expressive and artistic outlets, and fun leisure time activities. The Sims 2 FreeTime adds depth and humor to your Sims stories, and also appreciation for the experiences that make life enjoyable.”

Pop star Natasha Bedingfield is featured on Free Time’s soundtrack with “Pocketful of Sunshine” which is sung in Simlish within the game. There are also other new international bands in the playlist.

Now, if only I had the “free time” to play the game.

Battlestations Sequel Announced

Eidos Interactive has officially announced Battlestations: Pacific, the sequel to last year’s Battlestations: Midway. In development for PC and Xbox 360, the game features a massive US and Japanese single-player campaign, offering a blend of action and strategy. It will feature open-world arenas and fights in the air, letting players relive some of the most hard-fought battles in WWII history. The addition of the Japanese faction adds a new layer to the game, offering gamers a peek at what would have happened if Japan gained the upper hand on the US.

“Eidos is excited to bring an even bigger, more innovative and authentic experience with Battlestations: Pacific,” said Robert A. Lindsey, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Eidos Inc. “With an all new Japanese faction to explore and fight with, newly expanded multiplayer content, and a slew of new air, sea, and land units, the game takes the Battlestations series to the next level, bringing a completely different perspective to the war over the Pacific.”

There will be a total of 28 story missions, 21 new units and five new online multiplayer modes and maps. No release date was provided.

Lost Empire Goes Gold

Paradox Interactive sends word that Lost Empire: Immortals, their 4X space strategy follow up, has gone gold and will be available next month. The E-rated title takes players to the final frontier - the unexplored depths of the universe. Players are tasked with discovering and colonizing planets, researching and upgrading technology, making allies or conquering the neighbors and so on.

The game features a huge map consisting of 5000+ star systems, 6 major races, 28 unique minor races, open-ended gameplay, customizable ships and more. It will be out on March 15.

Activision CEO: WoW Killer Would Cost a Billion

The MMORPG market is well saturated with quite a few good titles, but is still dominated by World of Warcraft, the reason for which Activision merged with its owners Vivendi to create Activision Blizzard. This is noted by company CEO Bobby Kotick at an investor meeting where he comments that it would take an investment of almost a billion dollars to create something to rival WoW’s popularity, and even then, success wasn’t guaranteed.

“We don’t think that even if we made the USD 500 million or billion-dollar investment to get a product out [to compete with WOW] that we would even be successful doing it,” he said. “When we first started looking at it, it appeared to us like a game in an insurmountable product category… EA, Microsoft, Sony and scores of venture capital investments had been put to work unsuccessfully in trying to develop massively multiplayer games as a product opportunity.”

He commended the guys at Blizzard, saying that they have a model that is “very well-developed” and that they have a “keen understanding of their audiences.”

Titan Quest Developer Closes

The Iron Lore Entertainment website carries word that the studio is closing down after failing to secure funding for their next project, citing “several unrelated events” as a major reason. The studio has created the famed Titan Quest action RPG which garnered critical acclaim, as well as Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Soulstorm.

The site notes that the talented employees at the studio are now looking for jobs elsewhere and notifies interested parties that they have their own “powerful and flexible engine and tool set” which are open for licensing.

We would like to extend our thanks to everyone who has helped us in the last seven years - our team who moved mountains to create such great games, our publisher THQ who has been a great partner through three product development cycles, and most of all our customers and fans. We owe all of the success we’ve had to you, and our greatest satisfaction has come from creating games that have given enjoyment to the community.

R.I.P. Iron Lore. It was a good run while it lasted.

Wii Outsells PS3 4-to-1

The Wii has been selling like hot cakes since its launch last year. While many have predicted that the sales would subside, interest in the console is still solid and people are still more likely to buy a Wii than its more powerful, expensive cousins. Keeping that in mind, Reuters reports that the Wii is still outselling the PS3 nearly 4-to-1 in Japan in February.

Nintendo sold a total of 331,627 units of the WIi this month, outselling the PS3 by a huge margin. The biggest sellers this month were Super Smash Bros. Brawl, with 1.33 million units sold, followed by Wii Fit, which sold 309,311 units. No numbers were provided for the PS3.

“No Doubt” About It, Guitar Hero III Rocks

The newest set of tracks coming to Guitar Hero III reach back to the long-forgotten days of Ska, when string and brass instruments frolicked together in a peppy, upbeat style of music. “Excuse Me Mr.”, “Sunday Morning” and of course their classic “Don’t Speak” will be available later today on the Playstation Store. All three songs that reach back to an era before Gwen Stefani shed her band and proved that there was some truth behind the “Don’t Speak” music video are already available on the Xbox Live Marketplace for the standard prices. All three tracks are the original master recordings.

RE 0 Wii Port Only For Japan

When it comes to zombie-centric video games it’s hard to beat the Resident Evil series. Just announced on our site is the fact that Capcom is porting Resident Evil 0 to the Wii. Technically you can already play the game on the Wii since it’s was released for Gamecube as well, but this version will have Wii controls if motion sensing is your bag. Unfortunately it’s not going to be coming to anywhere except Japan. Luckily due to the Wii’s lack of region locking on the game discs you can just import it if you’re that jazzed about playing it, but it might be helpful to learn Japanese or get your hands on a translation.

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• No Tony Hawk Game This Year
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• THQ Gets Master Mind
• Coming Tonight: Gears Of War 2

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