Archive for June, 2008:
Metal Slug 7 Announced
Ignition Entertainment today announced that it plans to release Metal Slug 7 for the DS in North America this Fall. The game, exclusively developed for the DS, marks the first non-arcade debut of a new Metal Slug title since the series’ 1996 debut. It features six playable characters and seven levels.
The game also offers several new weapons and vehicles, as well as new gameplay modes.
Crytek CEO Estimates 1 Original for Every 20 Pirated Copy of PC Games
Crytek has been very vocal about rampant piracy on the PC, blaming it for them abandoning their PC-exclusive motif. Chief executive Cevat Yerli, speaking to IGN, revealed that he believes for one original copy sold, there are 15 to 20 pirated versions.
“It’s crazy how the ratio between sales to piracy is probably 1 to 15 to 1 to 20 right now,” he said. “For one sale there are 15 to 20 pirates and pirate versions, and that’s a big shame for the PC industry.”
He added that he hoped to see some change with the release of Crysis Warhead. Yerli, when asked if it would include the anti-piracy measures integrated into Mass Effect and Spore, he wouldn’t directly specify anything, but hinted at new ideas.
“Effectively, if the game isn’t an online game or multiplayer game—there are challenges regardless of what you do—the game can be cracked. The effort is to make it more difficult to crack, and certainly we’re going to make it more difficult this time with Warhead.”
Crysis Warhead is set for release this year, and will offer a different perspective of the story presented in the original title.
Sony Courting Studios for PS3 Movie Service
A report on Variety reveals that Sony Computer Entertainment has not yet solidified agreements to bring films to its recently announced PS3 video download service, as the company is still courting major movie studios.
It is currently believes that Sony Pictures is the only studio confirmed for the upcoming service, which is slated to hit the PS3 sometime this Summer. Sony is yet to reach any agreement with other movie studios, mostly due to the fact that it plans to offer more in its service than what’s available on Xbox Live Marketplace or any other video store for that matter. For example, the company may offer the ability to transfer downloads from the PS3 to the PSP for on-the-go viewing.
It has to be noted that Microsoft had only been able to offer content from Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures when it debuted the Xbox Live Video Marketplace. The service has now gained support of MGM, Lionsgate and Walt Disney.
$50 Price-cut for Xbox 360 Console Next Month
Joystiq was tipped by an anonymous source that a $50 price cut for the Xbox 360 premium console will be made next month. This comes from a full-page shot of a K-Mart flier that basically confirms earlier rumors about the price cut.
The flier will be distributed on July 13, the week of the E3 Media and Business Summit. It wasn’t indicated whether there will also be price-cuts for the Arcade and Elite units as well.
Age of Conan Content Coming, Zones Held Back to ‘Play it Safe’
Speaking to EuroGamer, Funcom game director Gaute Godager addressed concerns of a lack of end-game content for Age of Conan, stressing that more quests are on the way for fans.
“What we chose to do at launch was to play it safe–to pick areas and zones and regions and hold them back, then finish them post-launch,” he explained. “That was to be able to polish the areas that we did for launch to a higher degree. So on the content side, the big zones that we’re giving out this Autumn like Ymir’s Pass and others–those are definitely pre-launch stuff that was cut or put on hold.”
He additionally noted that about 60 quests were added to the game in the past few weeks, with further fully-voiced missions to be added soon.
Cruefest, Fictional Band to Rock Rock Band
Next week’s roster of downloadable music for Rock Band includes three songs from bands performing at Cruefest, as well as a free song by fictional ‘80s hair-metal band.
The Cruefest pack will feature “Down at the Whisky” by Motley Crue, “Time is Running Out” by Papa Roach and “Who’s Going Home With You Tonight” by Trapt. These songs will be available for 80 Microsoft points (99 cents). The free song will be “Promised Land” by the fictional ‘80s hair metal band Vesuvius appearing in the upcoming comedy film The Rocker.
These songs will hit Xbox Live Marketplace on July 1, with PlayStation Network getting it on July 3.
Prince of Persia DS Has Cute Prince
The DS version of the upcoming reboot of the Prince of Persia has been announced by Ubisoft. Dubbed Prince of Persia: The Fallen King, the game will feature an art style similar to the illustrative look used in the upcoming console title; it will make use of stylus controls for combat.
There will be a second playable character called the Magus, with the player getting to switch between the two characters to utilize their unique abilities and progress through the various stages in the game.
The game is expected alongside the console title this Holiday season.
New STALKER Clear Sky Details
Some new details on upcoming survival shooter STALKER: Clear Sky has been released by developer GSC Game World. A prequel to the 2007 shooter, Clear Sky is set one year before its predecessor, having players take on the role of Scar, a mercenary caught up between warring factions competing for power and territory.
The game will feature many new improvements, including an all-new animation engine, fast travel, better artificial intelligence and more. It will also include full support for DX10 for even more eye-candy.
Clear Sky is due out August 29. Full details after the jump.
WoW Security Keychain Announced
Blizzard today announced the Blizzard Authenticator, a keychain security device that adds greater protection against World of Warcraft account theft and hijacking.
The hardware, once associated with a WoW account, will provide a six digit code that must be provided when logging into the game. It will be valid for one use only, with each code generated on the press of a button. The device can be linked to multiple accounts.
Making its debut at this weekend’s Blizzard Worldwide Invitational event, the device will sell for $6.50. It will be made available on Blizzard’s online store at the same price soon thereafter.
3D Controller Support Coming to Valve Games
Offering gamers multiple ways of controlling their games, Valve today announced that its PC shooters will soon support Novint’s Falcon controller. The Falcon allows for three-dimensional freedom of movement and tactile response in games. Support for the peripheral will be added in an update distributed through Steam. No release date for the update was announced.
The studio will offer support for the peripheral in Half-Life 2 and its two episodes, Team Fortress 2, Portal and Counter-Strike: Source, as well as Left 4 Dead. The Falcon can be bought from retailers for $189.99; it will also be sold as a bundle including the pistol grip and the Orange Box at an unspecified date.
Mega Man 9 on WiiWare
Mega Man fans can look forward to Mega Man 9 on WiiWare soon, according to a confirmation from Capcom to Joystiq. The game was unveiled in scans posted by fan site The Mega Man Community, with the scanned article revealing the game to be styled in the classic 8-bit graphical style; music and cinematic cut-scenes will be similarly stylized.
The article then goes on to reveal that the game will feature various bosses including Magma Man, Plug Man and Galaxy Man. It will of course make use of the Wii Remote, employing motion-sensitive controls.
The game is in development at Inti Creates, a studio formed by ex-Capcom employees in 1996. No release date or price point were revealed, though WiiWare titles usually retail for around 1500 Wii points.
DC Comics MMO Details
By way of gaming magazine Edge comes new details on Sony Online Entertainment Austin’s upcoming MMO DC Universe Online for PC and PS3. The preview notes that the game will allow users to create their own superhero or villain and select superpowers for their characters in the same vein as City of Heroes, the already established superhero MMORPG.
DC Comics characters will appear in the game. One example pointed out was that players could aid Superman in his fight against Lex Luthor, or cause chaos downtown to draw the attention of famous superheroes.
The game will have a blend of instanced locales and large shared environments, two of which have been revealed to be Batman’s Gotham City and Superman’s Metropolis. According to the preview, there will be raids and instances, though the emphasis will be on fast-paced action rather than grinding for experience.
Finally, the developer noted that it is planning plot tie-ins with other DC Comics properties to be integrated into the in-game story arc. “We can tie-in future DC tentpole events and translate the stories for the gaming world, and have them occur simultaneously,” said creative director Jim Lee. “The possibilities are numerous and very exciting.”
Vegas 2 Fan Pack Coming
Fancy playing Rainbow Six Vegas 2 on some new maps? Ubisoft today announced the Fan Pack, a downloadable content update for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the shooter, offering a total of three new multiplayer maps. These maps include fan favorite Calypso Casino map from the original title. The other two maps are relit versions of existing maps Murdertown and CQB Training.
It will be made available completely free of charge next month.
New Xbox 360 License Migration Tool Released
Microsoft has released a new digital rights management tool that allows gamers to more easily consolidate licenses for downloaded content to a single console for online and offline play. The tool, which performs entirely online, transfers licenses from old consoles on Microsoft’s website, and allows users to easily redownload the licenses to a new Xbox 360.
Xbox 360 users previously could not run content and games on a new console without an active Xbox Live connection. The license migration tool lifts this restriction when the licenses are transferred, allowing content to effectively function as it had on the original system.
Rockstar Pays Less Than $30,000 to "Hot Coffee" Customers
The New York Times reports that only 2,676 people stepped forward to file claims in the “Hot Coffee” class action lawsuit against Rockstar Games for GTA: San Andreas, amounting to a payout of less than $30,000. According to the terms of the settlement, customers offended by the “Hot Coffee” content in the game could submit compensatory claims of $5 to $35 each, or a revised edition of the title devoid of the offending code.
Rockstar parent company Take-Two estimates that the claims will amount to less than $30,000, much less than the $1.3 million in legal fees the company racked up dealing with the lawsuit.
“Am I disappointed? Sure,” said lead plaintiff attorney Seth R. Lesser. “We can’t guess as to why now, several years later, people care or don’t care. The merits of the case were clear.”
Additionally, Take-Two has agreed to make a $860,000 charitable contribution, bringing the total cost of the “Hot Coffee” to roughly $2.19 million, notwithstanding the costs in reprinting and distributing the revised edition of the game.